


Trolls: A Healthy Balance

by Toxicthecat4836



Category: Trolls (2016)
Genre: Adventure, Betrayal, F/M, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Musicals, Personal Growth, Slow Burn, fleshed out, world building
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:09:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 62,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23981353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toxicthecat4836/pseuds/Toxicthecat4836
Summary: Poppy, the happy-go-lucky princess of Pop Village, is about to be crowned queen on her 21st birthday! But when a Bergen crashes the party, she'll have to go on a journey to save her friends and prove to everyone that she deserves to be their leader. With the help of Branch, the grey village grump, she might be able to undo her mistake. (Rewrite of the first movie with extended scenes and fleshed out characters.)
Relationships: Branch & Queen Poppy (Trolls), Bridget/King Gristle Jr. (Trolls)
Comments: 25
Kudos: 47





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to my first ever published fanfiction! I saw this movie years ago and thought it was good, but it could be better. So I'm going to rewrite the story with more details and extended time for character and plot development. Please tell me if you see spelling or grammar errors and know that I don't own Trolls, Dreamworks does. Enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The history of trolls and the bergen,

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome to my first ever published fan fiction! I saw this movie years ago and thought it was good, but it could be better. So I'm going to rewrite the story with more details and extended time for character and plot development. Please tell me if you see spelling or grammar errors and know that I don't own Trolls, Dreamworks does. Enjoy! (P.S. Since this is the first story I've ever published, I might mess up at posting this so some advice would be nice.)

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful tree where the happiest creatures in the world lived: Trolls. Trolls are small, colorful beings that love to sing, dance, hug, play, and just about anything that could bring joy to themselves and others!

  
But this amazing tree was also a cage. A cage in the middle of a town with the gloomiest creatures in the world: Bergens. Bergens were big and dull beings who couldn't feel anything other than misery and sorrow.

  
They didn't want to be that way though. They wanted to be happy, but they gave up on happiness after many failed attempts to find it. But then the royal chef discovered that if a Bergen were to eat a Troll, they could feel happiness.

  
The Bergens captured all of the Trolls that lived peacefully in the forest and imprisoned them in a tree called the Troll Tree. Their king, King Gristle, decided that the Trolls would be given to everyone in town once a year to conserve Trolls.

This day was known as Trollstice. A day where Bergens would have a giant feast and finally be happy together. Those years were hard for the Trolls, but they managed to stay positive thanks to their young ruler, King Peppy.

But then, the Bergen did something frightening. They took Trolls from the Troll Tree on a day that wasn't Trollstice! King Peppy decided that enough was enough. He, along with many other Trolls, spend their time coming up with plans to escape Bergen Town.

After months of searching, they found a way to escape. By digging under the tree, they could make a tunnel that lead to the forest and finally be free of the Bergen. It would take a lot of hard work, but if they succeed they'd escape before they could lose anyone.

The stakes were high though. King Peppy just had a baby a few months ago. She was a beautiful and cheerful girl that brought everyone joy at the very sight of her. And the Bergens noticed how happy and joyful the princess was.

And to the horror of every Troll, King Gristle was planning to feed the newborn princess to his son Prince Gristle Jr. on the next Trollstice. If they didn't escape soon, their princess would be eaten at the crisp age of one.

They finished their tunnel at the nick of time. It was Trollstice morning and the Bergen were gathered around the tree to watch their prince eat his first Troll. But to their dismay, there were no Trolls in the Troll Tree.

The Bergens looked everywhere, but by the time they sent out search parties, it was too late. The Trolls were far from their reach and they were only getting farther away. They spend weeks looking before finally giving up and leaving the Trolls alone.

Thirty years. That's how long the Trolls were imprisoned. But those years of fear, stress, and loss were over. Now they were going to find a place where they, along with their children, could be happy and safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's where our story begins. I promise this won't be one of those boring rewrite that are just the movie in written form, so just give the story a chance to unfold. I don't have a strict schedule, but the next chapter should be out in about a month or two.


	2. Party Planning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Snack Pack work their butts off the throw the best party ever!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I'm sorry this took so long and thank you for waiting patiently. I'm serious when I say this is the first story I've ever uploaded, so I'm gonna keep the updates at this pace until I can improve.
> 
> Before you start, you should know three things. 1) All trolls wear cloth, so there will be no nude trolls. 2) their world will be made of normal materials, not fabrics. I'll explain in more detail later on if you want, but know that the world isn't made of cotton or anything of the sort. And 3) flowers are not sentient. When the trolls are singing, insects and other creatures will sing along but flowers won’t. 
> 
> Also, I'm going to leave a profile on each character at the bottom of each chapter along with a question you're free to answer for fun. Have fun with that! One last thing:  
> "This is regular dialogue"  
> 'These are thoughts'  
> "Italics are for singing"  
> Underlined is a flashback  
> Bold is a setting or time change  
> "Italics and underlines is a Fuzzling speaking"  
> "Bold and Italics is auto-tune"

After escaping Bergen Town, the newly freed trolls traveled for days looking for a new place to call home. They could have gone back to their old village, where their ancestors once lived, but there was a chance that the bergen would look for them there. So they sadly had to give up on their old home.

Trolls were only a few inches tall with skin, eyes, noses and hair in every radiant color of the rainbow. They wore clothing made of wool, plants, or anything recyclable and biodegradable. They had four fingers and toes, magical hair that stood upright, and are known for their joyful spirits and musical talents.

It took them weeks of traveling, but they found the perfect place to live. There were tall trees to make homes, a large river with drinkable water, healthy soil for gardening, and harmless creatures they could befriend.

Once everyone found a good place to start building shelter, King Peppy climbed onto the tallest mushroom and stood above his people. The king was an orange skinned troll with fuschia pink hair and was in his forties. He had bushy pink eyebrows with a matching mustache, a yellow nose, orange eyes, and a large chest that made him look powerful. He wore sea green pants, a forest green shirt, a blue cape and a crown made of leaves. The king held his daughter, the princess, in his strong arms as he began his long awaited speech.

"After years of being in that living hell, we're going to rebuild our new home right here!” King Peppy said in his booming voice. “I cannot express how proud I am to be your king after witnessing what everyone here has done." The king could see the crowd below him was getting emotional from his touching words.

"I saw each and every one of you contribute to our escape. From the diggers that made the tunnel, to the lookouts that kept out plans hidden, even the spies that warned me of what the bergen intended to do with my daughter. You've all earned my praise for getting us to where we are now. And you've also earned my thanks for saving my baby from such a cruel fate." King Peppy lowered his head in a slight bow to show everyone just how grateful he was.

Everyone clapped and cheered for their king, for themselves, for the beginning of the new lives they created in a safe haven.

"We'll make a fresh start right here in our new village, Pop Village! We'll start with housing and then move onto other projects until this place truly feels like home." King Peppy announced.

Everyone, especially the adults, could only smile at the bright future ahead of them. So they buckled down, prepared themselves for the hard work that came with building a village from scratch and began to drift away from the crowd.

"BUT!" Everyone froze and faced their king again, wondering what else he had to say. "Before we begin construction, we should celebrate! It took us months to get here and we deserve a good party." King Peppy grinned as he saw the excitement growing in every troll's chest.

With that, King Peppy carefully sat his daughter on the mushroom before taking a cowbell and drumstick from his hair and handed them the princess. The baby was Princess Poppy, a trolling with big eyes, baby pink skin, hair like her father’s, and was absolutely adorable. She wore a light blue onesie and a green head and with a flower that matched her cloth.

Poppy took the drumstick in one hand and held the cowbell by its handle with the other. She looked at them curiously, shook them a little, took a few bites, and then hit the bell with the stick. Everyone around her was smiling and chuckling at how cute the princess was.

The wide eyed look on Poppy's face when she heard the sound she made when banging the stick on the bell was priceless. And to everyone's surprise, she quickly got the gist of it and made a simple yet catchy beat. She was barely a year old and she could already make sweet beats!

“And remember! No troll left behind!!” The king bellowed at the top of his lungs, causing the crowd to go wild.

With that, the first ever party thrown in Pop Village began along with the beginning of a life of tranquility.

**20 Years Later**

A tiny insect called an alarm bug, which resembled a ladybug with red wings under its yellow elytra and big purple eyes, flew through the open window of the largest pod in the village that sat on a familiar mushroom. These insects wake up at the crack of dawn everyday and start their days by looking for a troll to give them attention. Whenever a troll needed to get up early in the morning, they left their windows open for the alarm bugs to fly in and wake them up.

This particular one flew into a pink room and landed on a bed that had a sleeping troll under the covers. And so, it began to flap its wings to make a loud buzzing noise.

Buzzz... Buzzz... Buzzz... Buzzz!... Buzzz!... BUZZ!... BUZZ!...

The alarm bug continued to make annoying buzzing sounds, demanding the sleeping troll to wake up and pet it like a needy puppy. Said troll shifted under their covers and extended an arm out to the bug, patting its little head and rubbing it's antennas.

Now that the alarm bug was content, it flew out the open window feeling a whole lot better. The trolls in the bed threw her covers off, revealing herself to be none other than Princess Poppy in her orange nightgown with a bad case of bedhead.

She stretched her arms above her head as far as they could with a smile on her face that never faltered.

"Good morning new day!" She said with her angelic voice as she jumped out of bed and got ready for the day.

Princess Poppy was a beautiful troll with baby pink skin, fuschia pink hair, a hot pink nose, rosey cheeks, sparkly freckles, and shiny pink eyes. She was one of few people with a petite body figure with no belly fat that most trolls had, all thanks to her extremely busy schedule. Poppy is known by everyone as the happiest, kindest, prettiest and most generous girl in the entire village. Which is honestly a perfectly accurate description of her.

She put on her favorite blue dress with wavy light blue spades on the bottom, a white button on her shoulder to secure the dress and matching shorts underneath. She brushed her hair and put on her favorite green headband with three blue flowers on the front.

Before she left her room, she grabbed a green book that was thinner than most books off her dresser and carried it with her downstairs.

With a skip in her step, Poppy left her room in search of her father. It wasn't hard to find him since he always spent his mornings doing important paperwork in his office before going out to interact with his people.

"Good morning dad!" Poppy chirped as she barged into her father’s office the same way she did every morning.

Her father looked up from the documents and smiled back. "Good morning Poppy."

The king wasn't as young as he used to be. He was now in his sixties and his body has changed a lot over the years. His pink hair that once stood tall has become broopy with white streaks and a bald spot on his scalp. He now has a pot belly instead of a strong chest and he was slouching instead of standing with his back straight, needing a cane to walk around.

Nowadays, he spends his time going on long walks to greet his people, giving out orders when needed, participating in songs or reading documents. He used to be incharge of throwing parties and solving problems around the village, but he gave those responsibilities to his daughter when she was fifteen. He's very proud to say that Poppy has mastered the art of party planning and has learned to defuse bad situations with her cheerful nature. She's been incharge of these things ever since.

"Whachya doin'?" Poppy asked as she looked over her father's shoulder.

"Just confirming the construction of a new bakery. We already have so many but it looks like we’ll be needing more with our number growing so quickly. What about you? Any plans for the day?" King Peppy asked as he signed the bottom of the paper.

"Well first I'm gonna go get breakfast and see the kids at the classroom pod. Then I have to pass out all of the invitations and get everything ready for tonight. After that I'm gonna host the best party ever and be crowned queen!" The princess said, eager to get started.

Today was the day that Princess Poppy turned into Queen Poppy! Last week, King Peppy had a talk with her during dinner about what she wanted to do for her coronation ceremony and she decided to throw the best party she possibly could. She spent a full week preparing for this day and won't go with anything less than spectacular.

"Welp, I better get going! Got lots to do and I have to do it all before sundown." Poppy turned to leave but was interrupted by her father.

"Oh!" King Peppy gasped. "I almost forgot to tell you something of great importance!"

"What is it? Did a prank go wrong? Is there a fight happening between friends? We didn’t run out of sugar, right? Should I go do something about it?!" Poppy got antsy at the thought of something bad happening to her home and people.

The old king gave his daughter a loving smile. "Happy birthday dear."

Poppy sighed in relief, glad that her home was safe and people were still happy. She smiled back and wrapped her arms around him to give her dad a warm hug.

"Thank you. You're absolutely the best dad ever." With a kiss on her cheek from Peppy, the princess left with her book under her armpit to start her day and finally finish the work she started a whole seven days ago.

Poppy was so focused on the coronation part of the celebration that she almost forgot it would also be her birthday party. A coronation party? A birthday ceremony? A coronation ceremony/birthday party! As of today, she was twenty-one years old and has become the proper age to take her place as queen.

As she walked onto the mushroom her pod rested on, she used her hair to lower to the ground and went up to the giant woven basket parked nearby. It was overfilled with striking yellow invitations and wheels built on the bottom to make it easier to move around. After tossing the book inside, she got behind the grass basket and pushed it towards a place where she could get herself something to eat.

**In the office of the royal pod**

As King Peppy continued to read through each document, he couldn't ignore the tornado of emotions that were growing in his chest.

He could still remember the day he found out he was going to have an egg. It was the happiest and scariest moment of his life. He wished it would have happened under better circumstances, but he won't complain for even a second since his baby turned out to be an angel.

He still remembered Poppy being small enough for him to carry in his hair and hold in his arms. She was such a chatty and energetic baby, always babbling for whatever reason and crawling around to find anything of interest. He missed those days.

He could still see his little girl running around, playing games with her many friends, asking random trolls walking by a bunch of odd questions, and making everyone smile with her naturally high spirits. He missed that too.

He recalled her time as a teenager, trying to do everything she could to please her people and make him proud. She became a hard working young lady and was determined to be a functioning member of her village. He was going to miss that.

But she wasn't small and helpless anymore. She was now taller than him and could take care of herself without anyone’s help. She was a woman now who would soon have the biggest responsibility of them all: being queen of Pop Village.

He felt many things at once. First, he felt really old now that he was a sixty-four year old man.Time really does fly. But he was full of pride knowing that his daughter was an adult now, sadness that she didn't need him anymore, nostalgia for the overflowing memories he shared with Poppy, fear that she may not be ready for this responsibility, and joy that his girl grew up to be an amazing troll. And deep down, he felt a great deal of guilt.

Why guilt? Because a queen should have all the knowledge she needs to help her people, but he's been holding back on her.

Even though he never voiced it, deep down King Peppy was still concerned about the bergens. He was only a teenager when his people were kidnapped and treated like cattle for those beasts to feed on. He'll never forget those traumatic years, but he didn't want to burden his daughter or the younger trolls with those vile memories. The less they know, the better their lives will be.

Even though he worried, seeing everyone happy and feeling safe again kept him from telling his citizens more than necessary. The reason they escaped the Troll Tree was to give the next generation a peaceful life, not a life where they should be afraid and worry. So he and many others like him kept silent about the uncomfortable topic.

Well, all but the one troll. But Peppy knew why he was the way he is. He lost more than anyone else and it understandably affects him to this day.

Should he tell Poppy his fears right away or wait a bit longer? He'll worry about that when the time comes. For now he'll finish up his work and then go for a morning stroll. Besides, he had a party to look forward to.

When Poppy was older and more mature, he'd tell her these things and much more. He worried that if she learned more about the bergen, she might lose her precious innocence. And if he told her his secrets, it would give his daughter ideas that could do more harm than good.

These secrets have been forgotten since his time as a prince and he plans to keep it that way for a bit longer.

Secrets and information about who he and his people truly were, where their culture came from, and the world outside this forest they call home.

**Back with Poppy**

After leaving the royal pod, Poppy had gone to the favorite diner and had her usual breakfast: blueberry pancakes topped with strawberries with extra whipped cream and a cup of hot chocolate. Now that she was fueled up, she carefully pushed her gigantic basket to her next destination.

Poppy’s village has grown so much since it was first founded by her father. There were colorful pods sitting or hanging off the branches of the trees, shops everywhere with anything a troll could ever want or need, and a lot of free time for everyone to have fun.

In the beginning, most of the grown ups (who are now either elderly or have passed away) worked nonstop building pods, finding food, taming insects, and collecting clean water. It took a few years, but after finishing the necessities, they began making other things people may need, like stores for shopping, factories for making supplies, fields for farming and places to throw parties. Once all of that was done, everything else was less work and more play!

Their body's have changed a bit too. King Peppy had told her that trolls were thinner before she was born because of the lack of sugar they were given and the stress they were under while in the Troll Tree. Now everyone was carefree and could eat as many treats as they wanted! But all these sweets gave them a slight touch of belly fat.

But only a little bit!

Thanks to the endless games they played, the gym area that the grown ups could use and parties they had almost everyday, the trolls weren't too fat from eating to their heart's content. There were a couple of trolls that were still thin thanks to their more active days. Most of them were Sporty Trolls, farmers and people with hobbies that require enough physical work to burn off that extra fat. This includes Poppy since she’s always running around doing something.

As the princess inched her basket forward, the early morning trolls who had shops to open and places to be, greeted Poppy like always. She had to jump up and grab a few invitations to give them.

"Good morning your majesty." Greeted a polite woman.

"Hi Poppy!" A little boy shouted.

"Need a hand with that?" Asked a young man, who she politely denied.

"Cool basket." Compliment a teenage girl.

"How's it going Pops!" Yelled another boy.

"Have a nice day dear." Said an elderly man.

"What’s this?" Asked a young lady, who got her answer when she opened the yellow card.

Poppy loved her trolls so so so much! They were lovely people who she proudly called her citizens. She had a strong connection to them all, but most with the young adults around her age. She still made time to check on the elder, help the older adults with their work and she visited the trollings daily.

Speaking of trollings, she was almost at the tree where the classroom pod was set. This pod was where the children waited for her, their teacher, to start a new lesson. Poppy loves the early morning sessions with the kids with her entire being. Children were just so cute and curious and little and funny and smart and silly and so lovable! She sometimes learned something new in these classes too.

On Mondays she taught the kids how to garden with the help of a Nature Troll. Tuesdays were the baking classes with the help of one of the bakers. Then on Wednesdays she taught them new dance moves so they can get their groove on. On Thursdays they had singing lessons with a random troll to help them with their creative thinking. Then they had fun on Fridays when they learned how to play a new game with a Sporty Troll. Saturdays were her personal favorite, because she showed off with her arts and crafts skills!

But today was Sunday, the pick-a-lesson day! Which is when Poppy and/or the children decide on what new thing they should learn that isn't on their usual schedule. It could be climbing trees, making bug friends, writing letters or just about anything!

And the princess decided that today she would give the kids a quick history lesson, which was why she brought her favorite book with her to class.

Since Pop Village was still young there wasn't much history to teach, which would make today's class shorter than usual. The most there was to learn was those dark times in Bergen Town and how the village was built. She was always curious about the history before the bergen, but her father and the other older told her that she shouldn't have to worry about it and that she should focus on her new home, not the old one.

Poppy finally made it to the base of the tree where her class was waiting and parked her basket next to the trunk to keep it safe. She grabbed the edge of it with both hands and pulled herself up so she could get her book out from the ocean of invitations. It took a bit of digging, but she was able to find it before she was forced to swim around for it. She also got an armful of invitations for the kids and trolls she might pass by.

She jumped off the basket, patted her dress to dust it off, and climbed up the many stairs to the pink and green classroom pod. The trees here had many stairs carved in, ladders installed everywhere, and slides built in to make traveling from point A to point B a lot easier.

After a full five minutes of climbing stairs and handing invites to trolls walking by, she finally arrived at the pods she was looking for. As the petal of the pod lowered itself to let Poppy in, she greeted with an endearing surprise.

At first she didn't see anyone inside, but then she was showered with flower petals as the children jumped out from behind furniture and under tables.

"Happy birthday Princess Poppy!" The adorable kids cheered while throwing handfuls of confetti in the air. There were about twenty kids inside, jumping around and being silly from all the energy they had. The girls wore pretty dresses or skirts while the boys wore fitted shorts with suspenders or overalls.

Poppy smiled warmly at her young friends. "Awwww! Thank you so much guys. Are you coming to the party tonight?" All the kids yelled an excited 'yes!' and thanked the princess as she gave each of them a bright yellow invitation.

Then the children began to rattle off questions to the pink troll about her plans for tonight and what to expect from her party.

"Will the cake be chocolate flavored?" Asked a girl with yellow skin and bright red hair.

"Can we bring a present?" Asked a girl with jade green hair and aquamarine hair.

"What songs did you pick?" Asked a boy with golden skin and orange hair.

"I wanna use the shirt cannon!" The girl with peach skin and violet hair shouted.

But Poppy didn't answer any of them. Only she and her nine closest friends knew the details since this was ironically a surprise party from Poppy to the villagers.

"Sorry but I can't tell you anything." Poppy apologized.

The room was filled with disappointed sighs and cute pouty faces from having their questions averted, making Poppy giggle at their goofy behavior.

"Don't be sad, I promise the wait'll be worth it. Now who wants to hear a story?!" Asked the princess, who was answered with big smiles and shouts of joy.

Poppy placed a chair in the middle of the pod and sat down. "Alright, have a seat and get comfy, but not too comfy cause this’ll only take a minute." The children sat on the floor around her. Some were on their belly's, others were on their sides and most sat with their legs crossed.

Poppy opened the book, cleared her throat and read off the first page. "Ahem! 'Once upon a time, there was a beautiful tree where the happiest creatures in the world lived: Trolls'."

At first, the children had big smiles on their chubby little faces, but the smiles slowly disappeared the more the princess spoke. Even though this was a very small book, it upset the kids that the story was taking such a dark, twisted turn. The happy ending did nothing to help the kids now that they were bummed out after listening to the very true story.

"One more sentence!" Poppy announced before wrapping it up. "'Now they were going to find a place where they, along with their children, could be happy and safe'." She finished reading and closed the book before setting it on her lap. She could feel the atmosphere wasn't as bright as before, so she tried to cheer them back up.

"What do you think? Pretty dark, right?" Poppy asked humorlessly.

"Princess, did that really happen?" A little girl with salmon skin and baby blue hair asked glumly.

"Yeah." Poppy confirmed sadly. "I know it's hard to believe but it's all true."

"Do the bergen still wanna eat us?" Asked a scared girl with yellow skinned and orange hair.

"Yup." The shocked gasps of the children told her was being too blunt. "But only because it's the one way for them to be happy! It isn't entirely their fault, but there isn't much we can do for them without us getting eaten." Poppy clarified.

"But it won't happen again, right?" Asked a frightened girl with apple green hair and coral skin.

"No way! My dad made sure that we were safe here. You sweet hearts have nothing to worry about." Poppy comforted. She felt terrible for scaring the kids. Maybe she shouldn’t have told them about bergens after all.

"My grandpa says he helped dig for us to be here because he wanted us to be happy." Said a proud boy with lavender skin and purple hair.

"That's right! That's why we should live life to the fullest. To show our parents and grandparents that we appreciate everything they did for us in that scary place.”

“That’s why we hug every hour, right?” Said a boy with eggplant hair and magenta skin.

“Correct! So always smile, be kind to others, and never stop doing the things you love, okay kids?" Poppy said.

The children nodded, flashing her their best smiles for their princess. Poppy noticed the smiles were a little forced though, so she had a good idea to make them genuine!

"So, what's your favorite thing ever? I love making scrapbooks! Not gonna brag, but I’m the craft master." Poppy started to lighten their moods. Which worked like a charm!

"I like having slumber parties with my friends!" Blurted out a boy with forest green hair and orange skin.

"I'm really happy when I eat candy and share it with my mommy and daddy." Said a girl with purple glitter skin and lavender hair.

"When I play my drums, I'm really happy because I can play my favorite songs whenever I want." A boy with baby pink hair and yellow skin explained.

"I love playing with my pet caterpillar. He's super cute and fluffy." A girl with combat blue hair and red skin said with a smile on her face.

"Does watching my parents while they sleep count?" Asked a wonky eyed boy with apple green skin and blue hair in a creepy sounding voice, making everyone uncomfortable.

Poppy giggled, glad that the kids were back to being their happy selves. This is what her dad fought for. He wanted trollings to grow up in a safe and happy environment and here they were! In a village with their families, where they can go to school and have fun for the rest of their lives.

'I bet dad was so cool back then. He's still an awesome king, but I wish I could remember a bit more than just the ending of his adventure.' Poppy couldn't stop her mind from wandering.

Poppy didn't remember much about the Troll Tree or Bergen Town, but she has read the books and the older Trolls have told her the amazing stories of her father's heroic actions. The most she could recall was every single troll coming together and her father chanting his famous 'no troll left behind' fraze.

Taking a look at the tiny blue flower wrapped her wrist, Poppy saw the time and realized she still had a lot of work to do.

"I better go now." Poppy announced. "I'll see you again tomorrow for our flower potting lessons!" The pink troll walked out of the pod and could hear the echoes of the children saying goodbyes as she hopped down the stairs.

The princess had to stay focused. She still had a ginormous basket of invitations to give to every troll in Pop Village waiting for her at the base of the tree. Normally, a task like this would take about an hour or two of pushing the basket around and finding every troll that needed one. And she still had to find all nine of her bestest best friends to help set up the party.

Luckly, the pink troll had an amazing way to make this a five minute job!

Poppy reached into her hair and took out the very same cowbell and drumstick her father gave her when the village was founded. It was her most prized possession and she carried it around wherever she went.

With a few clinks of her bell, Poppy sang an upbeat song that would attract everyone's attention and help gather her best friends.

_"Everybody, move your hair and feel united! O-o-oh!"_

_"Everybody, shake your hair and feel united! O-o-oh!"_

The second Poppy started singing with her powerful voice, every troll within hearing distance stopped whatever they were doing to look her way. As she went down the slide, she saw her people gathering around to sing and dance to her song. Perfect!

Once she arrived at ground level, she pushed the basket as hard as she could and climbed onto the edge, holding onto the handle for dear life. She reached inside and threw invitations at any and every troll she spotted while speeding by.

_"Everyone, come to the celebration,"_

_"I'mma hook you up with an invitation,"_

_"Let your hair swing and party with me!"_

_"No bad vibes, just love you'll see!"_

‘Okay,’ Poppy thought as she continued her musical number. ‘Guy Diamond should be at his morning yoga class, Smidge is usually working out at this hour, and Satin and Chenille are busy in the boutique pod. I have no ideas where the others are right now, but they shouldn't be far.’

Speaking of her friends, she notices DJ Suki on her wooferbug, DJ Stage Bug, a few feet away to her right. Poppy waved her arms around wildly to grab the DJ's attention until they finally made eye contact.

"Suki!" Poppy shouted. "Give me a beat!"

DJ Suki gave her a thumbs up as she switched her current tunes to something more fitting for Poppy's song and sang along with the princess.

_"Do the D.A.N.C.E."_

_"1 2 3 4 fight!"_

_"Stick to the B.E.A.T."_

_"Get ready to ignite!"_

While Poppy rode her basket next to Suki's wooferbug, she noticed that she was getting closer to the morning yoga class and spotted Guy Diamond doing his usual poses. She and Suki decided to join him since the class would be over soon anyways.

Poppy grabbed onto the handle of the basket and used her weight to turn her improvised vehicle towards a tree trunk. It crashed hard and the pink troll plummeted into the pile of cards inside. But it stopped the runaway basket like she intended too so hooray!

DJ Suki couldn’t stop herself from laughing at the sight as she hopped off of DJ Bug Stage and helped Poppy out of her own mess.

"That was hilarious." Suki said with mirth.

"Totally." Poppy shamelessly agreed. Then she took another look at the cards inside and noticed that the basket was now half empty. "Hey look, I'm almost done!"

"Good for you. Let's go find a pair of free yoga mats." DJ Suki held her princess’ hand and walked with her to the class full of trolls in relaxing positions.

Poppy and DJ Suki carefully walked around the students (and put an invite next to them) and found two unoccupied mats on both sides of Guy Diamond. He must have had them ready in case any of his friends wanted to relax with him.

"Good morning." Poppy whispered to the silver troll as she stood on the empty mat on his left.

"S'up Guy." Suki quietly said as she copied his current pose, the tree pose.

"Hi Poppy, hi DJ.” Greeted Guy Diamond. “Wanna help me speed this up with a good song?"

Both girls smirked as they continued to rhyme, causing the trolls around them to change poses faster from the energy the music was giving them.

_"You are such a B.Y.T."_

_"Catching all the light!"_

_"Just easy like A C B"_

_"That's how you make it right!"_

They did another six positions and the class ended early thanks to their fast forward trick. The three friends then booked it to their next destination.

After a bit of jogging, they arrived at the base of the tree where the twins should be. But before they began to climb, Poppy gave her two friends three big baskets (one in each hand and one in their hair) filled with the remaining invitations so she wouldn't have to haul that giant one around.

Poppy, Suki and Guy paused their song as they approached the boutique pod. The trio walked inside of the green pod with cloth hanging around and fabric for making clothing scattered around the floor and tables. They put down their baskets by the entrance and spotted the twins finishing up another dress for her party!

When Poppy held a private meeting with her closest friends, the twins decided to make Poppy multiple dresses for tonight's party and have been working nonstop to have them all ready. You'd be surprised at how many events require specific dresses.

"Morning girls!" Poppy said before gasping at the sight of the forest green wrap dress with purple butterfly patterns.

"Is that one of my dresses?!" The princess squealed.

"Yup! This one’s for the opening ceremony dress." Satin said as she finished her sewing.

"Wanna see the rest of them?" Chenille offered as she put the extra fabric away.

"They're all done!?" Poppy, along with Guy Diamond and DJ Suki, were more than thrilled to see what the fashion twins had made with their two sets of talented hands.

The connected trolls lead the trio to a row of mannequins wearing beautiful dresses that the princess would be wearing tonight.

"Here's the post rehearsal gown." Satin pointed at the maroon jumper dress.

"This one's the party hardy garb." Chenille showed them an orange drop skirt dress with floral patterns.

"Over here is the hype women dress." Satin presented the dark blue shift dress.

"The coronation formal attire." Chenille showed off the purple ballroom dress.

"The after party dress." Satin said as she posed for the red bubble dress.

They finish off with the yellow dress with white star patterns. "And the after after party muumuu!" The twins said in union.

Poppy being blown away at the moment was an understatement. "I love them!"

She wrapped her arms around the twins and engulfed them in a bone crushing hug. Guy and Suki gave them high fives and compliments once they were freed from Poppy's loving embrace.

"You really outdid yourselves." Suki said as she looked over the dresses again.

"Not bad. They could use something else though...something sparkly." Guy Diamond commented.

Chenille rolled her eyes at the silver troll. "Not everything needs glitter Guy." Guy gasped dramatically as if the lavender troll had greatly offended him.

"This is great girls! Come on, let’s go get the others." Poppy said as she booked it for the door.

"Wait!" The twins yelled in union, freezing the pink troll in place.

"There's one more dress we wanna show you." Satin said as she and her sister walked up to a manikin that had a large sheet draped over it.

"This is our best one." Chenille said. "The official coronation dress!" Satin finished as they uncovered the last dress.

It was a sky blue overskirt dress with white glitter on the long cape and chest area. This is what she would be wearing while her father placed the crown on her head and confirmed her position as queen.

"It's beautiful." Poppy said in awe. She couldn't wait to try it on!

Before she could say anything else, she took another look at her bracelet and noticed how much time had passed. It was already 8:37!?

"Oh cupcakes!" Poppy cursed. "Come on, we still have a lot more to do!" Poppy yetted herself out the door and her friends, now four of them, followed close behind.

Suki and Guy gave the twins a basket to help pass out invitations as Poppy jumped on the back of a bee, leaving her four friends to run after her and give out cards to anyone they find without one.

The princess threw invitations around as she flew over the crowd of trolls below until the first of three baskets was emptied out. Then she heard the familiar sound of rapping coming from none other than Cooper himself! Looking around, she found the tall troll surrounded by bugs that were backing up his singing.

Insects in this forest had good voices and can support anyone they heard singing. Some could mimic voices, others were backup singers, others danced however they could and there were some that could use improvised instruments to help a troll with their performances.

_"It ain't hard out here when you're doing it right!"_

_"Put a smile on there 'cause that's the troll life!"_

Was the princess going to let Cooper rap it up without her? Heck no! She jumped off the kind bee once she was low enough to not break something and greeted the mystical troll.

"Hi Coops!" Poppy yelled over the music.

"What up Pops! Where've you been?" Cooper asked.

"Oh you know, around. Have you seen any of the others around?" Poppy asked, as she gave the striped troll a basket of cards, leaving her with one for herself.

"Yeah, I saw Smidge working out in the gym. She should still be there." Cooper confirmed as he put the basket on his back.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go get her!" Poppy said as she dashed away.

Poppy and Cooper ran to the gym area and found their short friend exercising her hair by doing bench presses. As the duo got closer, they could tell that Smidge was about to reach her limit. Noticing the strained look on Smidge's face, Poppy, Cooper, and their other four friends who finally caught up with the hyper princess, decided to help the yellow troll the best way possible.

By teasing her!

"You're looking a little tired, Smidge. Giving up?" Cooper lightly teased.

"I'll go get you some water." Chenille said. "And I'll get you a towel for all that sweat." Satin said  
before they both walked off to get their friend whatever she needs.

"Need me to play some upbeat tunes to get your strength back up?" DJ Suki offered.

"Want some help setting that back on the bar?" Guy Diamond asked, seeing Smidge was getting angry with them for daring to offer help.

Smidge was not having any of it.

"Don't even think about it! Stay where you are!!" Smidge shouted in her shockingly deep and gravelly voice. "Just give me a sec to recover and I'll have this stupid thing in the air in no time."

But even with the time to recover, Smidge was still having trouble so Poppy used her power of friendship to give her buff friend the push she needed!

“You know, I think this isn’t all you can do.” Poppy said as she jumped on top the weights, making Smidge’s hair tremble slightly, and started singing again.

And I'm here to help you through!

Come on Smidge, I know you can do it!

The small troll sent Poppy a strained smirk as she finally pushed past her limit. "Your encouragement gives me strength!" This led to the weight, along with Poppy, being sent about half a mile high into the air.

Poppy was a bit startled by the sudden increase in altitude, but she quickly used this opportunity to pass out more invitations. She flipped her final basket upside down to let the cards inside fall down to the trolls below. And the strong breeze helped spread them to other places too!

From high above, Poppy spotted Fuzzbert helping Biggie take pictures of his pet worn on one of the tree branches. She paused her song again and waited for the bar she stood on to be lower.

Once she was on solid ground, Poppy led her friends to the tree where she saw their other two friends. The group of seven climbed up the steps until they reached Biggie and Fuzzbert. The blue troll was dressing up Mr. Dinkles while the lime haired troll made sure the lighting was just right. Everyone was overwhelmed by the little worm’s adorableness.

"Aaaw!" Poppy cooed at the worm. "Mr. Dinkles looks so cute in his little suit."

"I know, right? I made it myself." Biggie said with a proud smile as he admired his handy work.

Once Fuzzbert was done setting up the background behind the worm, he got out of the way as Biggie took out his polaroid camera and took pictures of Mr. Dinkles.

 _"Morning guys. How's everything?"_ Fuzzbert said politely in his muffled voice.

"Everything's as great as ever for us." Satin giggled. “Not so great for you though.” Chenille chuckled.

Cooper laughed too, realizing what his fuzzy friend was going through at the moment. "Biggie dragged you into another photoshoot, hu?"

The small troll let out a loud sigh. _"I love the guy, but he's so picky about his sets! ‘Higher. No, lower! Be careful with that for your buying me a new one.’ I’m like, ‘really man?’ Really?!‘ You guys know what I mean, right?"_ Everyone laughed lightheartedly at Fuzzbert’s misfortune.

Biggie was a sweet guy but he took photographs, he was super strict. So whenever he asked one of them for help, they would either find a way out of it with convincing excuses or bite the bullet to avoid hurting his feelings and help him out while enduring his many demands.

They waited patiently by the sidelines for Biggie to take a few pictures with his polaroid camera. He snapped a few pictures, took the film the camera ejected from its slot, shook it until the image was clear, and put the best photo of the pile in a hand made frame.

Biggie hung the framed picture on a wall full of other pictures of Mr. Dinkles and let everyone take a look at it. The eight trolls were amazed by the quality of the photo, but the giant troll wasn't satisfied with how it turned out.

"It looks great, but I feel like it's missing something." Biggie commented while thinking of a way to make the photo even more magnificent.

Lucky for him, they had a sparkly decoration expert with them.

"May I?" Asked Guy Diamond as he dug out a mini bottle of glue and a small container full of silver glitter from his pockets. Biggie and the others stepped out of Guy Diamond's way as the glitter troll took the picture down and began to do his thing!

It only took a minute of spreading glue on the right places and showering the frame with glitter before hanging it back in place. The glitter helped the frame stand out nicely and the glitter on the glass made look like Mr. Dinkles was wearing a fancy wig.

"It's perfect! Thank you Guy Diamond." Biggie thanked his friend.

Guy crossed his arms with a smile full of pride as he soaked up the praise. "Any time man, I'm here whenever you need me."

Poppy looked up and saw that the sun was a bit higher than before. Which means that they were losing precious time!

"Okay!" Poppy shouted suddenly, grabbing everyone's attention. "Are we ready to roll?!" She was more than happy to see everyone nodding their heads and following her to the closest slide.

Guy and Suki handed Biggie and Fuzzbert a basket with a few more cards to pass out as they went up to the slide that led to the very bottom of the tree. The group of bestest best friends found a leaf big enough for them to ride down the slide together and continued their song as gravity helped them down.

_"Oooooh don't stop! (Don't stop!)"_

_"Don't stop the beat!"_

_"I can't stop! (Can't stop!)"_

_"Can't stop the beat!"_

_"I won't stop! (Won't stop!)"_

_"Won't stop the beat!"_

_"Go!"_

Once they were on the ground again, the nine friends held each other's hands as other trolls surrounded them and danced to the music. They even tossed Poppy in the air like cheerleaders and shaped the color and shape of their hair to add to her performance.

Trolls were natural showmen. They had great voices, an amazing sense of rhythm, dope dance moves, a strong connection to one another that helped everyone join musical numbers with little to no effort and a talent for improvising. It was fantastic!

_"Everybody, shake your hair and feel united! O-o-oh!"_

_"Sunshine day! Everybody singing! Sunshine day!"_

_"Everybody, move your hair and feel united! O-o-oh!"_

Poppy sang at the top of her powerful lungs as her friends and other random trolls began to climb onto each other. They were planning to wrap up their song with a gigantic troll pyramid with their hair in the shape of hearts, every color known to troll and firing off the flower cannons filled with glitter!

Why the unnecessary display of theatry? Because why not!? In Pop Village, when you're singing a song that everyone wants to be a part of, you either go big or go home!

_"Yeaaaah oooooh!"_

_"Yeaaah!"_

Poppy could hear her best friends breathing heavily from all the running around they did. This wasn’t the first time the princess had to run around the entire village, so she had a good amount of stamina built up. But her friends weren’t as experienced as her so after this, she would thank her besties with the freshest, coldest, and tastiest smoothie she could get them.

Once the song was finished, the group of close friends gathered together while the other trolls went back to their day. Poppy and her B.B.F.F.E.'s (Bestest Best Friends Forever and Ever) group were so popular in the village that they got named the 'Snack Pack’ because they were like the living embodiment of a nice picnic: a lovely event for friends to hang out, talk, and eat together.

But they were missing someone... Oh well! Nine out of ten friends wasn’t too bad. They'll look for him later.

DJ Suki was really pumped up. "This is gonna be awesome! I already got the songs ready, but I need help with the glitter bombs."

DJ Suki was the best DJ in the entire village. She had red skin, a light blue nose, braided orange hair in a purple scrunchy, three long bangs, light pink eyes, sparkly freckles and a pink gem in her belly button. She wore a shirt with pink, blue, white and yellow striped and matching trousers. She had four bracelets on each arm, each a color from her cloth, and white headphones with blue and purple flower patterns on the sides.

Poppy nodded, paying full attention even though she was looking around for someone that she has yet to find. "Guy Diamond can help you with that, right Guy?"

The sparkly troll gave them a thumbs up. "You need a hand? _**Don't worry, I've got your back**_." He finished in his autotuned voice on.

Guy Diamond was an expert at decorations and could autotune voices, but mostly did it to himself. He had silvery skin, glitter covering his entire body and shiny white hair. He has a light green nose, blue eyes, and matching blue eyebrows. He was very proud of his sparkly body, so the only cloth he wore was a pair of glittery shorts that matched his skin with pockets filled with portable decorating supplies.

Chenille appeared on Poppy's left. "Pops, you have to come back to our pod later okay? We need you to try on the dresses we made ASAP!" Satin appeared on her right. "We gotta make sure your dresses fit right. Don’t want any wardrobe malfunctions during the party."

"I'll be there once the fireworks are done. I still have to hide them in the right places so it can be a surprise." Poppy explained.

Chenille and Satin were the fashion twins. Satin had pastel pink skin, blue eyes and a blue nose. She wore a silver and purple leotard with four circular earrings and purple leg warmers. Chenille had lavender skin, pink eyes and a pink nose. She wore a silver and purple dress with flower earrings and a silver anklet. They wore matching purple makeup and their hair was the exact same color. It starts with blue at the base, then it's purple in the middle and ends in pink where their hair connects, making them conjoined twins.

Cooper lowered his neck down to Popp’s height. "Did you say fireworks? Can I help?! I have an idea that'll make them bigger, louder, and so much cooler!"

Cooper was one of a kind in Pop Village. He was kind of like a cross between a troll and a giraffe. He had pink fur with red stripes, thin combat blue dreadlocks, purple eyes, and a red nose. He walked on all four of his artic blue legs, he had a really long neck, and only wore a green newsboy hat. He was found as an egg when the village was still in construction and has lived here with them ever since.

"Of course you can! Good luck getting them to shoot past the leaves though, I still haven't figured that part out. Think you can handle that kind of fire power Smidge?" Poppy playfully teased her small friend.

"Ha! You're kind, right? I can handle anything you throw at me!" Though she was a small girl, she had one of the most masculent voices in the village.

Smidge was the powerhouse of the group. She had bright yellow skin, long teal hair with matching eyebrows, a pink nose, deep blue eyes and a fit body. She wore a pink dress with a light blue pompom on her belly and a big pink bow wrapped around her hair. Even though she was the size of a child, she was actually in her twenties and was a lot stronger than she looks.

Poppy high fived Smidge. "That's what I wanna hear! If we can get this right, this party's gonna be the party of the century."

Her friends whooped in joy at the thought of going down in history as the ultimate party animals!

"I'll bring my best camera and have it ready for anything!" Biggie assured his friends "I better have extra film ready just in case."

Biggie was a big softy and a photographer. He was a tall troll with royal blue skin and short periwinkle hair. He had thick limbs, a large belly, eggplant eyes, and a pink nose. He wore purple shorts and a matching vest that looked a bit too small for a guy his size. Mr. Drinkles was the worm that Biggie always had with him. He was yellow and green with pink striped, blue lips and big eyes. He also wore a cute top hat on his head.

 _"I got the rainbow punch just like you asked! Wasn't easy, but so worth it."_ Said the muffled voice of Fuzzbert

Poppy smiled at the news. "Thanks Fuzzbert! Make sure it gets to the snack bar an hour early so we can set everything up on time please."

Fuzzbert was a troll with hair covering his entire body. And not like a weretroll, but like the hair covered his body like a cacoon from the thighs and up. He was a short guy with orange legs sticking out of his lime green hair. No one knows what he or other Fuzzlings look like within the hair, but that didn't matter because he was a fun and helpful guy who everyone loved anyways.

"Okay, let's keep up the good work. We're only a couple of hours away from the best party ever and we can't let our guard down." Poppy said seriously.

"Don't worry Poppy, we've got this in the bag." Cooper reassured.

"Yeah, our hard work is gonna pay off tonight." Satin started. "And if anything does happen, we'll make sure the party's still awesome." Chenille finished.

"I guess you're right. Thanks for everything you guys, I couldn't have done half of this without all of you having my back." Poppy said with genuine gratitude.

"Anything for our best friend and soon-to-be queen." Guy Diamond said with a charming smile.

Then Biggie was the first to notice that he and his friends had subconsciously followed Poppy outside the village. "Uh... Poppy? Where are we going?"

Poppy walked ahead of them with a skip in her step. "I gotta give this last invite to someone."

The Snack Pack couldn't help but sigh simultaneously in despair. They knew exactly who it was for and were dreading the encounter. It was pretty obvious since they're heading towards the (almost) uninhabited part of the forest. As much as they loved Poppy, they couldn't understand why she did this every time something fun happened.

Cooper decided to be the one to start the discussion they've had hundreds of times before. "Poppy, why are you inviting him to your special day? You know Branch won't come, right? And even if he did, he'd be a total downer!"

Satin nodded in agreement. "Yeah Pops, he's not worth it." Chenille continued her sister's argument. "Your special handmade invites are wasted on him."

Poppy just smiled though, ignoring their ranting. "Don't be mean. Branch isn't _that_ bad."

"Not that bad?" DJ Suki cut in. "He once gave DJ Stage Bug super chewy bubble gum so we couldn't keep partying the night away!"

They have no idea how, but during one of Poppy's late-night parties, Branch snuck in and gave Suki's Woofer Bug a giant wad of gum. No one noticed until the music suddenly stopped and the caterpillar started making deafening chewing noises.

"Yeah!" Smidge chipped in. "And what about that time we got stuck in one of his crazy traps?"

While looking for Branch to invite him to a holiday party, they were all caught in one of his net traps. They were forced to wait for two long, boring, and uncomfortable hours for the loner to come and get them down.

But again, Poppy swept their worries away. "He's a bit paranoid, but he has his good moments too. Biggie, remember when he found Mr. Dinkles when you lost him? Or what about you Satin. Remember when he helped you cure your itchy rash?" They all remember both of those events very clearly.

One day, Biggie put Mr. Dinkles down for a second to get a picture of a butterfly and the large troll turned back around to find that the little guy had disappeared. Everyone helped search for his pet, but there were no signs of worms. They were going to stop their search for the day when the village grump came up to them with the little worm in his arms. Branch had told Biggie that Mr. Dinkles was a worm that craves milkweed flowers in their adulthood and that he would continue to sneak away to look for them unless he had some close by to eat. The grey troll then handed Biggie milkweed seeds to grow his own before quickly leaving.

And Satin got an itchy rash on her entire left side from falling on some poisonous weeds. The key ingredient for the cream Satin needed to fix her skin was yellow mint, but it only grew in fall. It was the beginning of summer at the time. The itchiness was unbearable and could've scarred her skin if she scratched it too much. But luckily, instead of waiting months for the yellow mint to grow, Branch was walking around for supplies and noticed her rash. He wordlessly gave the pastel pink troll a jar of the cream she needed, and left without even waiting for a thank you.

Both of these events had dumbfounded everyone that witnessed it because of the way Branch acted. He was usually distant and cold, stubborn and negative, the only grey troll here and the village grump. But there were scarce times that very few trolls knew of where he was generous, helpful, even encouraging. There were even a couple of trolls the Snack Pack knew that had nice things to say about him, but no one except Poppy believed their stories.

But that still didn't help his case when he acted like a total butt ninety-five perfect of the time!

It also doesn't help that Branch didn't live in the village with the rest of the trolls. It turns out that he built himself a secret bunker somewhere deep in the thicker part of the forest and didn't tell anyone where it is. Some trolls have tried to find it as a game or out of curiosity, but they all failed miserably.

But unbeknown to anyone, Poppy found the secret bunker a few years ago. While looking for the lonesome troll, she found him and quietly followed Branch around, waiting for the perfect moment to finally give him a hug since he's never given or received one before. But she ended up watching him go home by accident and discovered where Branch has been living this entire time.

Poppy decided to be the first person ever to knock on his door, much to Branch’s dismay. The grey troll was horrified to see the princess at his secret bunker and made her swear on her father’s life to not tell anyone where his home was. And he was glad to find out that the pink troll hadn't even hinted to anyone that she knew the location of his bunker.

"He's a really nice guy if you hang out with him long enough." Poppy stated in a matter-of-fact while wagging her finger.

"You hang out with him?" Guy Diamond asked, wondering how she managed that. Whenever a troll approached Branch, he would either ignore them or leave without a proper goodbye.

"Yeah! I find him doing stuff and we sort of hang out." The pink troll and grey troll usually talk about one of two things when they're together: Branch being unhappy and Poppy being obnoxious. But she still enjoyed spending time with the sarcastic troll.

While Poppy tried to learn more about Branch, the gloomy troll used their time together to teach the princess simple survival skills in hopes that she might use them when needed. Stuff like which mushrooms are safe to eat, how to tie a rolling hitch knot, how to start a fire or how cool Branch looked when he did parkour tricks on tree branches!

"I don't know Poppy... is it safe to be alone with him?" Asked a concerned DJ Suki. She knew Branch was really mean, but she has heard stories of him being physically violent when people weren’t around to stop him.

"What if he hurts you? Or upsets you? Or bores you?!" Biggie mumbled to himself in fear, not being subtle at all.

"What if he's listening to your rude conversation about him?" Said an sarcastic voice.

Everyone turned to see the troll they were looking for leaning against a mushroom stem with a small pile of sticks next to him. He had an annoyed look on his face and was glaring at the popular group.

Branch was the infamous village grump and a professional survivalist. He had flint grey skin, a lead grey nose, pointy ears and black hair that was flat on top. He wore a vest made of leaves sewed together and brown shorts with green patches for camouflage purposes. Unlike most trolls, he had a muscular body from all the exercise and healthy eating he does to stay in shape. And the only color on him were (surprisingly) his baby blue eyes.

"Branch!" Poppy smiled, ignoring the cold glare. "I finished my morning song and came to see you!"

"I know. I could hear you all the way from here." Branch complained as he approached them, causing everyone but Poppy to take a few steps back.

"That's good. I was worried we weren't projecting loud enough." Poppy whipped imaginary sweat from her brow.

"No Poppy, that's bad.” Branch scolded the princess. “Keep it up and you'll lead predators right to us. Maybe even the bergen!"

The snack pack groaned at Branch's bad attitude. What was he so afraid of? They've been safe from the bergen for 20 years but that still wasn't enough to convince the grumpy troll to stop 'preparing' and start partying!

Poppy smiles with the same warmth as ever, ignoring his complaint. "Branch, we're not in any danger. We're millions of miles away from Bergen Town and they aren't looking for us anymore. You're allowed to relax a little and come to a few parties. Like maybe the one I'm throwing tonight for my coronation ceremony/birthday party?”

She showed him the invitation she made him. It was a pop-up invitation with little figures of Branch with a big smile, having a good time in the village with everyone and bold red letters spelling out 'Your Invited'. It was a very impressive card. It sang a little song and then finished off by showering Branch in rainbow glitter. It was the best part in Poppy's opinion!

The pink troll ignored the sound of her friends trying to suppress their amused giggles behind her. The Snack Pack were always entertained by Branch's misfortune, especially when Poppy was the source. To them, it was like watching karma at work.

Branch wasn't amused though. He just stared at her with a blank, emotionless, deadpan look on his face. A sparkly deadpan look on his face. The only reaction he showed was shaking himself to get the glitter out of his hair and off his cloth.

Poppy handed him the card, silently praying to the heavens that he'd say something nice about it. Something like 'thank you' or a 'what a nice card' or maybe 'of course I'll come to your party'! She crossed her fingers behind her back and hoped for the best.

But he didn't say anything. Branch threw the card over his shoulder and it landed on the pile sticks he spent the day collected. The way he carelessly tossed the invite made it look like he was planning to burn it along with the rest of his firewood.

The Snack Pack sent Branch their own annoyed glares after he thoughtlessly discarded Poppy's hard work like it meant nothing to him.

‘It obviously doesn’t.’ They thought at once, feeling angry on their princess’ behalf, hoping this won't hurt her feelings too bad.

"Are you coming? It's a really special day so the party's gonna be extra wild." Poppy asked with hope in her pink eyes, not caring that her invitation was thrown away. Again.

Her friends were suddenly thrilled instead of mad from being reminded of the sick party they were going to throw tonight.

"I'm gonna play my music on the highest volume setting!" DJ Suki announced.

"I'm gonna wear my best makeup!" Satin said with glee.

"I'm bringing my best jewelry!" Said Chenille with confidence.

"I'll have the shiniest decorations everywhere!" Chimed in Guy Diamond.

"I swear guys, I'll get those fireworks to touch the sky!" Copper enthusiastically declared.

Branch wasn't as enthusiastic though. "You've gotta be kidding me. Why don't you just paint a giant bullseye on everyone? Or nail signs around the forest that say 'free trolls to eat, just follow the ghastly noise' while you're at it?" Branch said, instantly killed the mood.

"We're just having a little fun Branch, it's not dangerous. So, will you come?" Poppy asked again, not at all fazed by his rudeness.

"Geez, what do you think?" Branch said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes at Poppy’s childish behavior.

"That you'll come and give it a chance and have fun and realize that you love parties?" Poppy nervously guessed, her facial features tightening up as she spoke.

"Nope!" He instantly shot down. "I don't like parties and you know that I-"

"My friends! I've finally found you!" Said a soothing voice.

The Snack Pack smiled, seeing their final member arriving from above. They all waved their arms and called him over.

"Hey Creek!" Greeted Guy Diamond.

"Over here bro!" Cooper waved over.

"Good morning Creek!" Biggie said politely.

 _"Cool bug man."_ Fuzzbert complimented.

Creek levitated to them in the lotus position. And by levitate, I mean a beetle was holding him by his hair and flying over towards them.

Once the purple troll was safely on the dirt, he turned to the blue beetle and placed his forehead on the bug’s to show his affection.

"Thank you for helping me on my quest to find my friends. May your generous actions be rewarded with good karma." He thanked the bug as it flew away.

"Namaste everyone." Greeted Creek. And to his pleasure, his friends copied his greeting the way he taught them in his yoga class. Both hands gently pressed against each other in front of the chest with a slight bow, just like he does.

Creek is a guru in training. When he's not being trained by Cybil to help trolls in spiritual need, he's teaching his evening yoga class. His coloration made him an extremely attractive troll to the girls (and some guys) in the village. He had lush orchid skin, a bright orange nose, blue eyebrows and violet eyes. He had beautiful hair that was blue, turned teal in the middle, ending with green highlights and curled back on top. He didn't wear much except for his comfortable yellow yoga pants.

"Hi Creek!" Greeted Poppy. She was really glad that the gang was all together. Now they could get the party started in no time!

"It's nice to see you all. I've been looking for you everywhere, but couldn't find you any of the others anywhere I looked. I was getting worried until I found a bug that witnessed you going in this direction and was kind enough to help me find you." Creek spoke as if he went on a grand adventure and not on a regular walk across the village.

"Sorry about that. I was just inviting Branch to my coronation ceremony/birthday party!" Poppy explained before turning back to the grumpy troll. "Your coming, right?"

"No way. I wouldn't be caught dead at your parties. But you guys will be caught and dead if you don’t stop this nonsense." Branch rebuked as Creek walked past the princess and up to him.

Branch sent the purple troll walking towards him a dirty look. He disliked most of the trolls in the village, but Creek made his skin crawl. He always had a thick air of superiority and arrogance around him that bothered the grey troll. It was strange to him how no one else could see that the guru had a secret snooty side and Branch thinks even Creek doesn't know about it either because of his conceited personality.

Branch especially hated that Creek once announced to everyone that he would try to 'save' the sulking troll from his greyness by forcing his spiritual ways onto Branch. He had to endure five months of Creek trying to convince him to go to his yoga classes ("If you come with me, you'll feel better in a matter of days mate."), guilt tripping him into meditation ("So you're fine with your toxic aura affecting others? That's not very nice."), even harassing him into changing his attitude ("Look, just admit that you need help and I'll see what I can do for you.") until he finally gave up and left Branch alone.

Creek said stuff about him being 'too far gone' or a 'loss cause' to excuse his failed attempt at ‘helping’ him. He even told others to avoid Branch because the guru experienced an unnatural amount of negative emotions within him when around the grey troll for too long. Some of those emotions were frustration, impatience, confusion, and even self doubt from Branch constantly rejecting his offers and insulting him when the village grump was angered.

Branch didn't mind people avoiding him, but he was really offended that Creek described him like he was a walking illness. It sucked that a large portion of trolls believed that B.S. about him and treated him like he had a contagious plague.

Creek sent Branch his trademark 'disapproval look' that he used whenever he witnessed something he found sickening. If he gives you that look, furrowed brows and lips pressed together in a tight line, it means you've done something terrible that needs immediate fixing.

"Branch, a change of attitude will help with all that negative energy you've built up inside yourself. What do you say, mate? A little more optimism? Some happy thoughts? A few more smiles? A bit of positivity?" He listed off while making his voice higher and higher with each option, annoying Branch to no end.

"I'm positive you're all a hopeless lot.” Branch said as he walked back to his pile of sticks and single invitation. “I'm gonna go now."

Just then, there were multiple little 'bing' sounds coming from the Snack Pack. They each checked their wrists and saw that the Hug Time charms, flower bracelets everyone had that glowed and binged every hour, were reminding them that it was time for their hourly hug.

"Hug time!" The Snack Pack cheered in union as they formed a big group hug.

Branch watched from a safe distance in disgust as the group of close friends embraced for the millionth time and enjoyed it as if it were some kind of drug. He could even hear them telling each other how much better they felt now that they were hugging. Freakin’ unbelievable!

Branch died a little inside after witnessing that catastrophe. He needed to get away from them before he pulled out his hair. But not before having the last word.

"I can't believe you're going to be queen.” He said with a frown once the Snack Pack were done hugging it out. “You're too immature and naive for that kind of responsibility."

With that, Branch left and walked back to his bunker. Poppy could help but think about what Branch said.

'Am I immature and naive? I know I can be immature sometimes but that won't stop me from being the best queen ever.” Poppy questioned herself. ‘But am I naive? Naive is like being dumb, but I think I'm a smart troll. But...'

"Poppy, don't let his negativity affect you." Creek reassured as he put a supportive hand on her shoulder. "He doesn't know you the way I do and I think you're going to be an excellent queen, okay love?"

Poppy smiled, her cheeks becoming a darker shade of pink than before. It was no secret to anyone that she had feelings for Creek. How could she not? He was handsome, wise, friendly, smart, relaxing, fun, supportive, and he had such a nice voice. Whenever she had free time and the rest of her friends were busy, she'd take the opportunity to spend some romantic alone time with Creek. He would sing for her, tell her the beauty of chakras, and help her be happier than she already was.

And Creek felt the same way about the princess. How could he not? She was beautiful, had a kind heart, a positive aura, great potential, and a lovely singing voice. He always put in a lot of effort to make sure that any time he spent with Poppy made their bond stronger than it was before. He was planning to make her his girlfriend soon, but he was still looking for the best possible way to bring it up. He's been meditating on it, and he’ll do so again before the party, hoping that the answer will come to him one day in a vision.

"Come on guys, we still gots lots to do if we want this party to be awesome!" Smidge said causing everyone to run back home.

They booked it back to Pop Village, discussing ways to make the birthday party/coronation ceremony bigger and better.

But in the back of Poppy's mind, she hoped with all her heart that Branch would come.

**Name: Princess (soon-to-be Queen) Poppy**  
**Age: 21 (mentally, she's 10)**  
**Birthstone: Emerald (happiness and fertility)**  
**Misc. Type: Pop/Rainbow**  
**Loves: throwing parties, making new friends, children, scrapbooks, and frosting.**  
**Hates: being alone, someone not having a good time, and her plans going wrong.**  
**Fun Fact: Her ponytail is designed to look like a volcano that's constantly erupting to match her explosive personality.**  
**Motto: "When in doubt, hug it out!"**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you think? Anything missing? Anything I should add or take away? How were the characters? How was my description of the environment? What about the dialogue? How's my writing so far? I’m not good at writing humor, any advice?
> 
> I never understood why movie's still do the 'they hate each other, so they're totally in love' story. It's cliche, predictable, and over done. Branch gives Poppy the cold shoulder, but he won't do anything too hurtful like destroy her invitations right in front of her.
> 
> Here's the question of the day: what was your first impression of Dreamwork's Trolls?


	3. Coronation Gone Wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poppy's party is about the be crashed by an uninvited guest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Thank you for following, liking and leaving a comment. It really inspires me to work harder, faster, and better on these chapters. Anyways, you already know what's going to happen in this chapter since it was all in the movie, but there will also be more on the trolls and bergen.
> 
> The coronation scene from the movie was deleted for some reason, but I decided to bring it back so Poppy has more reasons to question her leadership skills. Also, I wanted an excuse to put her in a bunch of pretty dresses like in that other deleted scene.
> 
> P.S. I can't write good jokes, so don't expect to get a laugh out of this fanfic. I promise I'll work on my awful sense of humor, but enjoy the angst and fluff for now.
> 
> Also, I suggest you remember some of these:
> 
> “This is regular dialogue"  
> 'These are thoughts'  
> "Italics is for singing"  
> Underlines is a flashback  
> Bold is a setting or time change  
> Underlines and italics is a Fuzzling speaking"  
> Bold and italics is autotune"

It took the Snack Pack eleven whole hours of work to get everything ready. They installed the speaker bugs, gathered the food, built the stands, got a cake big enough for everyone, hung up the decorations, blew up the balloons, set up tables and chairs, tested the equipment and kept trolls away from the party area. It was tiring work but they finished on time so the sweaty pits were one hundred percent worth it!

The sky was turning a cool shade of purple and the brightest stars were beginning to appear as the sun finally faded away behind the horizon. This meant that the birthday party/coronation ceremony was about the start.

Poppy and the rest of the Snack Pack had finished half an hour before their deadline, which was an impressive accomplishment since this was a massive party these ten young trolls were throwing. It took them a full week of planning, gathering party supplies, preordering food and keeping it all under wrap, so this better go off without a hitch!

The ten trolls were hiding under the mushroom they would be using as a stage. They placed a thick curtain around the margin (edge) of the mushroom to have a backstage area for themselves to rest, hide surprises and help each other out if anything happened.

Poppy took a peek at the crowd and saw a river of trolls walking up to the mushroom that stood underneath the royal pod as the invitations instructed them to do. Everyone in the village arrived on time for the coronation ceremony/birthday party wearing their best party outfits and ready for the time of their lives!

The soon-to-be queen had changed out of her post rehearsal dress a few minutes ago after hours of refining her opening monologue and was now wearing the wrap dress with a tiara made of flower petals.

The other outfits were safely waiting for the princess in the tent that Chenille and Satin set up in the backstage area as a changing room. There was also a small table of food and drinks for them, chairs to rest on, a few beds to nap on and party supplies they'd be using later.

"Does everyone know what to do?" Poppy asked in her somber tone that she only uses on special occasions. She almost sounded like one of those ‘generals’ from story books.

Everyone assured the pink troll that they had their jobs memorized and ready for anything. Tonight was the moment they've been preparing for and they wouldn't let anyone go home feeling anything less than stupefied from an overdose of astonishment!

"I can't wait to see the look on everyone's faces!" Cooper said, thinking about how happy everyone was going to be.

Guy Diamond turned on his robotic voice. "You guys ready?  **_It's gonna get wild out there!_ ** "

If they could see Fuzzbert's face, they would be seeing a cocky smirk.  _ "Me? I'm always ready. I'm more worried about the rest of you." _

"That's the spirit!" DJ Suki complimented her fuzzy buddy.

"Good, just stay with your assigned partner if you've got one and keep a look out for your cues and you'll be good." Poppy reminded them.

"Don't worry, we won't let you down." The Giant troll reassured as Mr. Dinkles made a cute little 'mew' sound.

"Thanks Biggie. Now get in position! We've got a birthday to celebrate!" She ordered, causing her friends to quickly sneak out from underneath the mushroom.

Poppy crawled under the drapes and climbed up the extension ladder that was leaning against the stage. She could’ve used her hair to climb up, but the twins advised her not to mess up her hair in any way, shape, or form. After quickly climbing to the top of the mushroom, she could see that every single troll in Pop Village arrived in the middle of town and were ready to party like never before!

Poppy cleared her throat into the microphone, causing the trolls to look up at the stage. The crowd was in awe at the sight of their princess in a beautiful dress. Poppy has always been an attractive troll, but this takes her beauty to the next level!

"Hi everybody!" Poppy said into the mic. "Thank you all for coming to my birthday party/coronation ceremony!" The crowd clapped and cheered in response, waiting in anticipation for the ultimate party to begin. The Snack Pack have been promoting this to be the greatest party to ever be thrown and no one in their right mind would dare miss it.

Poppy scoped the area and saw her friends exactly where they needed to be.

Guy Diamond was at the snack bar, ready to pass out food and making drinks with his charming smile. Fuzzbert was with him to restock the shelves so Guy didn't run low on anything.

Suki was behind the DJ booth on top of the taller mushrooms to her right. Said mushroom was a few inches taller and was an entire foot away from her, so Suki could have a good view of the party. (By troll standards, a foot is a lot of distance.)

It wasn't hard to spot Biggie and Mr. Dinkles since they were taking her picture from within the crowd. Cooper and Smidge were with him, waiting for Suki to play 'Firework' to cue the fireworks once the song was done.

Creek, Satin and Chenille were sitting together at one of the tables. They were gonna wait together until Poppy gave them the signal to begin their 'assault' after changing into her Hype Woman Gown.

"It's hard to believe that I'm finally twenty-one years old. I used to think as a kid that this day would take forever to come, but here we are! Time really does fly when you're having fun, am I right?" Poppy gushed, causing the crowd to cheer and whistle in response.

“Before we begin, I’d like to thank everyone that helped me and my friends with the party. Thank you Klaus Von and Cookie for the awesome food, thank you Sky Toronto for the party stuff, thank you to my bestest best friend and thanks to everyone else for being here tonight!” Poppy commented, causing the audience to applaud for the trolls that were named.

"Enough talk!" Poppy shouted and she struck a flashy pose. "Let's get this party started!  _ Hit it Suki! _ "

DJ Suki turned the speakers on and dialed the volume to full blast as the party comensed.

_ "Leeet's get it started...in heeeere!" _

_ “And the base keep runnin’ runnin’ and runnin’ runnin’,” _

_ “And runnin’ runnin’ and runnin’ runnin’,” _

_ “And runnin’ runnin’ and runnin’ runnin’,” _

Everyone at the party lost their minds at the sound of music playing and danced the night away.

**A few hours later**

So far, everyone was having a wonderful time. Poppy had changed into her bubble dress and she was currently singing some of her favorite songs on stage.

As the princess performed for her people, she watched as they either got some food, talked with their friends, took a seat at one of the tables or danced and sang along with Poppy as she belted out to 'Party Rock'. So far, she’s sung ‘Shut Up and Dance With Me’, ‘Die Young’, ‘Havana’ and seven other songs. She was gonna have to take a quick break after this or she’ll lose her voice.

She spotted Creek and the twins riding DJ Stage Bug, a green-blue caterpillar with pink polka-dots, six green legs, an adorable face, a navy blue mane, a pair of turntables on his back and is known for being a living DJ booth. Suki's pet had satchels filled with glitter bombs, and waiting behind a bush for Poppy to give them the signal to begin throwing the glitter bombs.

Creek was using Satin and Chenille’s hair as a slingshot to throw the glitter bombs above the crowd. The guru would grab a sparkly ball, place it in the pink area of the girls’ hair as they sat a few inches apart from each other, pulled back as he aimed upwards and released! The ball of glitter exploded with a soft ‘bang’ over a large number of trolls and showered them with glitter.

Everyone enjoyed the display of shiny rain, but no one loved the glitter bombs more than Glitter Trolls who were laying on the ground making sparkly snow angels.

_ “Put your hands up!” _

_ “Put your-put your hands up!” _

Even with the encouragement of the crowd, Poppy wasn’t feeling too hot right now and it was beginning to show. She was panting heavily from the singing and there was sweat on the back of her dress from the dancing. The pink troll needed to take a seat backstage before she lost her composure in front of everyone.

“That’s it for now, but please joy the rest of the party while I’m gone!” With that out of the way, Poppy jumped off the stage as DJ Suki kept the music going and the guests continued to dance.

Poppy moved the curtain out of the as she took a seat on the recliner Guy Diamond dragged here for emergency relaxing time. And the princess  _ desperately  _ needed that relaxing time  _ right now _ ! She flopped onto the soft chair with a sigh and tried to catch her breath. She still had a whole night ahead of her, so she couldn’t stay there for too long.

Satin and Chenille walked into the restricted area and grabbed a cup of water from the table of refreshments to cool themselves off with.

“Uh! My neck is killing me.” Satin complained as she turned her head side to side. “I need to get a massage after this.”

“Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to be the catapult.” Chenille agreed as she rubbed the back on her aching neck.

Before they could continue  vociferating about their regrets, they noticed Poppy on the recliner being unnaturally still and silent.

“Hey girl, you dead?” The lavender troll asked as she grabbed another cup for her princess.

“Meeeeh...” Poppy groaned as she pulled the lever on the side to recline her chair back.

“We’ll take that as a ‘not yet’.” The pastel pink troll laughed at the state Poppy was in.

The more tranquil twin handed her friend the cup and stood by the princess’s side. The sisters watched with wide eyes as their bestie chugged down the glass of water like her life depended on it.

“Thanks Chenille. I seriously needed that.” Poppy said gratefully as she wiped the spilled water from her lips and chin.

“Why didn’t you get up to get it yourself?” The more feisty twin asked as she stood by her sister.

“You have to understand, I only had two options: the chair or the drink and I chose to sit.” Poppy exaggerated with a profound tone.

‘She’s such a drama queen when she’s tired.’ The twins thought in union as they giggled.

“Okay Pops, can we get you in the party hardy guard now or should we give you a minute?” Chenille asked.

“Three minutes please.” Pleaded the exhausted troll.

“Fine, but don’t take too long.” Satin reminded her friend as she and Chenille left to get some chips.

Poppy gave them a thumbs up and got comfortable. To keep track of the time, Poppy hummed a song that was three minutes long. She chose ‘Walk Me Home’ and promised herself that she was going to get up once she finished mouthing the lyrics.

_ “Hmmhmm hmm hmm hmmmm tonight~” _

The rejuvenated princess peeled herself off of the recliner and went to the tent that served as a private area for getting undressed.

“I’m ready.” Poppy said as her fashionable friends joined her inside.

Poppy carefully took off her dress and handed it to Chenille to put away as Satin gave her the orange drop skirt. The pink troll tossed her dress in the air and extended her arms upwards as it plummeted onto her form. 

“Go get em girl.” Satin encouraged her as she helped zip up the dress.

Poppy gave them a grateful smile as she burst through the curtains. She went onto the dance floor and waved her yellow friend over from where she was enjoying her ice cream.

The princess politely asked the trolls to back away from the center of the dance floor as Smidge gathered enough chairs for a fun game of musical chairs! Poppy helped her tiny friend set up twenty chairs as the trollings circled around the seats to play. Everyone else watched by the sidelines as Suki spoke into the mic.

“Alright everybody, it’s time to play some games!” DJ Suki announced.

Suki played ‘Lollipop’ and the children walked around the chairs, waiting for the music to stop as their signal to claim a chair.

The second DJ Suki paused the song, the children booked it for the closest chair. Most of them were able to sit down without a struggle, but a few of them didn’t make it so they were out.

As the grown ups cheered for the kids, Poppy noticed one of the trollings that lost in the first round was looking down at his feet with tears in his eyes. The princess wasn’t going to stand by and let a little boy be sad in the middle of a party!

Poppy took out a pair of scissors from her hair and cut down a balloon from one of the tables to help cheer up the sad child. The orange trolling with forest green hair looked up from the ground to see the princess smiling and holding a red balloon.

“Don't worry, I’m sure you’ll last longer next time.” The pink encouraged him as she handed the little boy the balloon. Having Poppy of all people giving him something was enough to bring a smile to the young troll’s face.

Watching Poppy being kind to an upset child brought a smile on everyone’s face. Especially when said child had a big grin on his cute little face.

The game continued as chairs were taken away and children were eliminated one by one. And in the end, there was a yellow boy with red hair and a sky blue girl with pink hair glaring at each other as they circled the last chair that would determine who the winner would be.

Suki paused the music one last time and the trollings rushed the chair, but the boy was able to slide in first. But the yellow boy was sliding too fast! He was going to fall off and the blue girl would take the opportunity to win! Before the boy could slide off the chair, he grabbed onto the seat and held onto it as he fell down. There was a pregnant silence as the boy laid on the floor with the chair while the poor girl stared at him at a loss.

“I win!” He shouted from the ground with a smug grin on his face.

Poppy wrapped her arms around her stomach as she cackled with the other trolls, finding the ordeal hilarious. She was having a fantastic time and she was sure everyone else was having just as good of a time. But the princess couldn’t help but feel that something wasn’t right...

Where was Branch?

Looking around, Poppy didn’t see any signs of Branch, which was odd because he should be here by now. The pink troll decided to go looking for her (kinda) friend while Smidge and DJ Suki began the next round of musical chairs.

**The snack bar**

"Hey Guy, how's everything over here?" Poppy asked, watching Guy vigorously shook a large cup of ice cream over his shoulder.

"Everything's going smoothly." Guy said as he gave a cute couple an extra large shake with two straws. "Want anything? I've got chips, dip, ice cream, fruit slices, soda and a lot of other stuff."

"Maybe later. Have you or Fuzzbert seen Branch?" Poppy asked as she looked at the line for any signs of her soon-to-be friend. She didn't see Guy Diamond and Fuzzbert exchanged a nervous glance before answering.

Both the shiny and fuzzy troll knew this would happen eventually, but they were hoping that the princess would be too busy with the party to notice Branch's absence. But then again this was Poppy, the most thoughtful person in the entire village, so they weren't surprised that she was looking for the boring troll.

"Sorry, but he hasn't been here." Guy said as he gave another troll a bag of chips with a soda.

_ "Have you asked Biggie? He's been everywhere taking pictures so he might've seen Branch walking around." _ Fuzzbert advised as he refilled the mini fridge with cans of grape soda and tubs of chocolate ice cream.

"Your right." Poppy agreed. "I better go find him! See ya later!" With that, the princess ran into the crowd in search of the photographer.

Poppy had her back turned to her two friends so she couldn't see Fuzzbert and Guy’s worried gaze, both knowing that her search for the village grump would be for nothing.

**At the dance floor**

Poppy walked around, getting hugs and compliments from every troll she passed by as a ‘thank you’ for the awesome party. There were other Giant Trolls at the party, but it didn't take long for the princess to find the blue one carrying a worm she needed to question.

"Hey Biggie!" Poppy shouted, getting her friend's attention.

Instead of saying ‘hey’ back, the chubby troll aimed his camera at her. "Say 'best party ever'!"

The princess didn't hesitate to pose. Poppy turned her body sideways with her hands on her hip and gave the camera the best smile she could muster. It was really easy to smile when Mr. Dinkles was on Biggie's shoulder, looking as adorable as ever. 

"You look great in that dress." Biggie complimented while putting the photo that the camera ejected into his pocket. "Orange really is your color."

"Thanks Biggie. Do you know if Branch is here yet?" Poppy finally asked as she looked around for any sign of the village loner, not noticing the large troll flinch at the name.

Biggie wished his friend would stop getting her hopes up when it came to the grey troll. At every party she invited Branch to, Poppy would take the time to walk around and ask anyone if they've seen the village grump. She worked herself to the bone to make every party as amazing as possible but none of them will ever feel like a complete success unless Branch participated.

"Sorry Poppy, but I haven't seen him all night. Maybe Suki spotted him from her booth." Biggie suggested as he pet Mr. Dinkles to calm his nerves.

"Good idea!" Poppy looked up at her next target in the DJ booth sitting on top of the tall mushroom and jogged away. She didn't notice the uneasy state she left Biggie in.

**On the DJ booth**

"Suki!" Poppy howled as she finally got to the top of the rope ladder.

"Yeah?" Suki finished 'DJ Got Us Falling In Love' to 'Green Day' and was free to talk for about two minutes before she had to put her focus back on the DJ set.

"Do you see Branch anywhere?" Poppy asked while looking down at the many trolls below, hoping to spot a hint of grey or black in the mix.

Suki cringed when she heard the party crasher's name. "Nope. Haven't seen him since this morning." The DJ answered honestly.

"Oh..." The pink troll visibly deflated at the bad news.

'Was he seriously not coming?' Poppy thought glumly. 'Maybe I'm not looking in the right places. Branch wouldn't be on the dance floor, he'd be somewhere that isn't packed with trolls or playing loud music. But there's nowhere like that here!'

DJ Suki saw the way Poppy's vibes dimmed and tried to think of ways to cheer her up. She couldn't stand the sight of her B.B.F.F.E. being bummed out at her own birthday party/coronation ceremony. And she knew  _ exactly  _ who's fault it was.

'That jerk doesn't even have to be here to kill Poppy's good mood!' Suki thought to herself in outrage. 'I better break it to her now before this drags on.'

"Poppy," The DJ said in her most gentle voice. "He's not-"

"Do you think Creek might've seen him?" Poppy asked, accidently cutting off her bestie.

"He's been riding DJ SB around, so maybe?" She's seen the guru with the twins on her wooferbug for most of the party, so he must have had a good look at the party. But she had to get back to the topic at hand!

"Pops, I don't think-"

"I'm gonna go ask him next.” Poppy interrupted again. “Call me if you see Branch, okay?" Poppy didn't give the Treasure Troll a chance to answer as she hurried down the ladder.

She wasn't looking when DJ Suki frowned at Poppy's endless amount of wishful thinking. If Poppy ends up unhappy on her special day, Suki was going to make Branch pay!  _ Big time. _

**By the tables**

The princess found the blue maned insect resting near the seating area with rich leaves to munch on as a reward for his hard work. DJ Suki had a resting station prepared for her beloved pet/friend and made sure he had enough food and water after helping with the party.

And who was sitting on DJ Stage Bug, enjoying the view of the party? Creek!

Poppy giggled as she snuck behind the large bug, used the empty satchels to climb up and surprised the purple troll by hugging him from behind.

"Hi Creek!" The pink troll squealed as she wrapped her arms around the guru’s torso.

"Namaste love." Creek chuckled at Poppy's sweet antics. "Shouldn't you be backstage getting changed? Satin and Chenille will likely have the next dress ready by now."

"I know but I gotta check on something real quick. Which is why I'm here!" Poppy let go of her crush and twirled herself infront of him like a ballerina. “Did you see Branch from up here?" Poppy asked as she gave the guru her full attention instead of searching the area for her missing guest.

Since this was the first time Poppy has had proper eye contact with one of her friends, she could clearly see the distress in Creek's face. She watched as his sparkly cheeks went from perked up with a big smile to droopy with a small frown.

"Poppy, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you deserve to know." Creek said as he gently took her hands in his. "Branch isn't coming."

"How can you be so sure? He might change his mind and drop by for a sec." Poppy pouted, not liking what Creek had to say.

"I'm sure because Branch has never been to any other party before. And because he throws away your wonderful invitations. And don't forget that he specifically said that he wouldn't be coming." Creek knew he was being blunt, but he also knows that his love wouldn't stop her fruitless search unless she had a good enough reason to give up.

"Yeah, he said and did that stuff, but I want him to come and be happy with the rest of us. Everyone deserves to be happy!" Poppy always dreamed of the day that the village grump finally accepted her friendship and maybe even regained his lost colors. She wasn't going to stop until that seemingly impossible dream came true.

"I know, love, but I also know that Branch isn't like normal trolls. He doesn't socialize, he hates our music, he won't dance with us, he has never sung before and he wastes his time on 'survival tacticas' when there's no reason for it. I wouldn't be shocked in the slightest if he doesn't even  _ want  _ to be happy." Creek stated honestly, hating that he had to convince Poppy to forget about the grey troll for the millionth time.

It irked the purple troll to no end that everything Branch did and said had an effect on Poppy when it shouldn’t. Why do the words and actions of a foul person matter to her when she had him and the rest of the village to give her a more positive influence? But he masked his frustration with concern as he gave Poppy’s hands a gentle squeeze for comfort.

That last sentence about Branch not wanting to be happy bothered Poppy for some reason. She's never thought of that before because the idea of someone not wanting to be happy was ridiculous to the princess. And the idea that Branch wanting to stay the way he was, always grouchy and all alone, was unsettling to the pink troll.

"But he-" Poppy was interrupted by the guru carefully placing a finger over her lips.

"You're a loving girl who cares about everyone, even those who don't appreciate it, but this is your party. Not mine, not Satin's, not Guy's, not Cooper's and most certainly not Branch's. This is  _ your  _ birthday party.  _ Your  _ coronation ceremony. I think you should stop looking for missing trolls and use your precious time to get ready for the main event." Creek said in his wise and attractive voice.

Poppy sighed in defeat. "Your right... I'm sorry Creek, I shouldn't have lost focus. I almost ruined the party for everyone."

Creek was the only person in the village that could influence Poppy’s stubbornness when it came to her opinion and decision making. The princess was still incredibly headstrong when it came to subjects that she was determined to see through, like Branch having his colors back or helping other trolls in need, but the guru could still persuade her in or out of stuff like stopping her from make the tallest cake ever and convince her to come to his yoga classes. It was most likely because of his charming nature, but it was actually thanks to Poppy’s huge crush on him.

"All is forgiven. And if it'll make you feel better, I'll take you to the dance floor later. What do ya say love?" Creek winked with his dreamy smile, causing Poppy to blush.

"Of course I'll dance with you! I'll come get you at the after party, okay?"

"Got it. I'll meet you backstage."

"Okay!" Poppy checked her wrist and noticed the time. "I better go now. I've kept Chenille and Satin waiting long enough."

"They're going to blow a fuse when they realize your running late." Creek jokes.

Poppy groaned at the realization. "Don't remind me! They're never gonna shut up about it." The princess then hopped down from the wooferbug and bolted for the stage as Creek watched her leave with a warm smile.

After getting halfway to the backstage area, the princess stopped to sweep the crowd of trolls once more.

Poppy scanned at the party, making sure that everyone was having a good time. She saw trolls dancing to the beat, singing along to the music, eating delicious food, talking to each other and enjoying themselves.

'Okay, let's see...' Poppy did a checklist in her head. 'The snack bar's going strong, Suki's got the music covered, Biggie has more than enough film for tonight, the fireworks will set sail soon, Branch is on a branch, the glitter bombs have been deployed, and my personal designers are waiting for me.'

'Everything's going (almost) exactly as planned.' With that in mind, Poppy hurried to the backstage area to get changed again. Satin and Chenille were soooooo gonna rant and rave over this.

Poppy began to jog back to the main mushroom stage to get dressed again. It's a good thing the pink troll had an impressive amount of stamina from years of running around the village in a hurry. In one day. On more than one occasion.

...

'Wait a minute...' Poppy's brain finally caught up with her and she turned back to the trees. 'Branch?!'

Poppy ceased her running, quickly turned back around and searched the leaves for the troll she's been looking for. It took a minute of scanning the many trees, but she finally found Branch!

The village grump was in the shadowy part of a tree, sitting on one of the branches where no one could bother him like she knew he would. It looked like he was getting ready to go home, but that wasn't the point!

The princess had to rub her eyes and do a double take because this could be her mind playing tricks on her, but what Poppy saw wasn't her imagination. Branch did come to her birthday party/coronation ceremony, even if she was watching him take his leave.

Poppy had a soft smile on her face as she watched the grey troll disappear into the woods. She was going to thank him tomorrow. Even if he didn't dance or sing with everyone, even if he was here for only a minute or two, Branch still came to the special party that was important to her.

She couldn't wait to see the look of her friends' faces when she told them that Branch did, in fact, pass by!

**A minute ago with Branch**

Branch had a dirty look in his eyes as the party got crazier and crazier with every passing minute. After hours of watching the rowdy trolls below, the village grump had had enough of their insanity and decided to go home. He wasn't aware that Poppy spotted him at that very moment as he was getting up to leave.

The survivalist was originally going to stay hidden until Poppy's coronation, but he couldn't handle anymore loud music and bright lights  _ in the middle of the freakin' night _ . It made him anxious to think of the different predictors and nocturnal animals they were attracting with their nonsense.

So instead of waiting for the princess to be crowned queen like he planned, Branch stood up and jumped from tree to tree in the direction of his bunker. He climbed roots, jumped off twigs, ran along the branches, swung on vines and used his hair as a rope with an incredible amount of swiftness.

Branch was a fleet-footed troll thanks to years of practice and self-training. Surviving wasn't just about fighting enemies or hiding from predators, it also involved escaping fatal situations. Running was a strategic move when necessary and the grey troll made sure he had enough speed and agility to get as far away from any threat as possible.

'Why are they like this?' He thought in disappointment as he jumped between branches. 'Did they forget the horrible things that happened on Trollstice? Most of the them are older than me, so they  _ must  _ remember, but they act like none of that ever happened.'

His thoughts turned into frustration. 'And why are they against me being cautious? They think I'm some sort of fun hating monster, but that's not true at all. It's not that I don't want them to be happy, I'm just tired of everyone being oblivious idiots!'

Those trolls mock his traps, but they've caught predators that were attracted by their idiocy before. Those immature people call him a paranoid freak, but he had a large amount of useful knowledge that they lacked. Those mindless partiers didn't know anything about him, but they think they know enough to judge him.

'What's wrong with being prepared for emergencies? Nothing lasts forever, not even peace.' That worried the village grump most of all. He was afraid that one day the bubble of safety and happiness the trolls made for themselves would burst and cause a dreadful chain reaction to the villager’s mentality.

But at the moment, he was less frightened and more annoyed!

'You know what? Forget about it. Trying to understand them isn't worth the stress.' Branch concluded as he finally arrived home. 'If they want to put themselves in danger, then that’s fine by me. I've warned them, I've tried to help but whatever. They can't say I didn't try if this comes back to bite them in the butt.'

**Hours later at the village**

It was almost time to launch the fireworks. Smidge was currently on the tree branches where the flower cannons were placed, ready to hit the ‘GO’ button.

Flower cannons were flower buds with tough stems that were hollow inside. They were used to launch stuff into the sky by blowing powerful bursts of air, water or even fire through the open end of the stem and shoot whatever was stuffed within the enclosed petals. The flower cannons can shoot stuff really high up, almost touching the leaves on the trees, but they’ve never been able to get past the foliage.

Cooper already stuffed the flower buds with the necessary materials and was confident that his idea for making the fireworks shoot higher than ever before would work. And what was his answer? Stuffing the cannons to the brim with more rockets, glitter and explosives and using fire instead of air to give the fireworks the extra kick they need to reach the stars!

_ “Boom boom boom!” _

_ “Even brighter than the moon moon moon!” _

_ “Boom boom boom!” _

_ “Even brighter than the moon moon moon!” _

DJ Suki paused the music at once, Cooper turned off all of the lights and Smidge immediately pressed the big green button. There was an ear-splitting boom as the cannons went off, scaring everyone half to death as they turned their heads towards the sky.

The forest was dark and noiseless as every single troll watched in amazement as the fireworks went past the tree's trunks, past the branches and past even the leaves to reach the black sky.

When the Snack Pack planned for surprise fireworks, they were worried that the mortars would explode prematurely or that the trees would get in the way and ruin the display. But instead, the force from the flower cannons was so powerful that the crown of the trees were pushed back far enough to make a clear path for the rockets and reveal the night sky.

It was pure dumb luck that this happened, but they won't look a gifted worm in the mouth!

The villagers watched as the fireworks exploded into a sparkly discharge in the silhouette of everyone's favorite princess” Poppy. The troll shaped peony was joined by spinners and comets and a whole bunch of glitter!

Everyone was hypnotized by the pretty lights as they continued to decorate the sky for another thirty minutes.

**A few miles away from Pop Village**

In one of the quiet clearing of the forest, there was a small RV where a once famous bergen lives. This bergen was the once loved chef Brawdy.

Brawdy was tall with a chunky body, skinny limbs, gross feet with gnarly toenails, lilac purple skin, frighteningly red eyes, multiple chins with moles, a pink nose with large nostrils, demon-like ears, crooked teeth, an underbite, and cyan hair in a messy bun. She wore a filthy white t-shirt, grey sweatpants that were a size too big, an old floppy hat full of holes and a yellow fanny pack that was sadly the nicest thing she had on at the moment.

The bergen was currently walking to her rundown caravan trailer with a bucket full of water in one hand. She was going to boil it and made some stew with whatever she could gather from within the forest. She hoped to find some herbs and mushrooms, but she knew her luck wasn't that good.

After dumping the water in a rusty pot, ex chef Brawdy stacked a pile of sticks against each other to start a fire. She even sprinkled dried grass and leaves on top before lighting the match to make it easier for the wood to burn.

As she flicked the burning match into the makeshift fireplace, she couldn’t stop herself from remembering the better times in her life.

**20 Years Ago**

It was another day in the small town known as Bergen Town.The sky was cloudy and bleak, life drained from the earth beneath them and bitter air for them to breath. But today was different from any other day.

Usually, bergens spend their days brooding about life's depressing facts, mindlessly doing their boring jobs, making their neighbors miserable and wandering around in hopes of finding something to peek at their interests. This was how the bergen were born and it’s how they would die.

But not today! Why, you might be asking? Because today was Trollstice, the yearly holiday that gave everyone a chance to taste a small slice of heaven. Every bergen in the small town woke up early to meet at the Troll Tree to witness a precious moment.

The Troll Tree was a large bird cage with itty bitty chain links between the bars to keep little beings known as trolls from escaping. Inside the cage was a healthy tree, green grass decorating the floor and shrubs scattered around the interior with pretty flowers and sweet fruits growing off the branches. And by the entrance of this magnificent tree was none other than the bergen that created this holiday.

Chef Brawdy was the famous head chef of the royal family. She wore a tasteful white chef uniform with striped brown pants, hoop earrings made of real gold, purple lip gloss, a leather fanny pack for her cooking utensils, her hair in a geometric haircut, mascara over her eyelids and a tall chef hat on her head.

She had amazing cooking skills and was feared by everyone who worked in the castle. The maids, guards, butlers and gardeners were afraid of Brawdy, but the other cooks were especially terrified of her because they were technically her subordinates. (She's the Gorden Ramsey of bergens, but a lot more sinister.)

The royal chef was also famous for accomplishing the impossible: finding happiness!

From what she told the king and queen, chef Brawdy was exploring the woods for new ingredients when she stumbled upon tiny beings known as trolls. Trolls were as small as their palms and had personalities so sweet that they could give you diabetes with their very presence.

The talented cook decided to take a troll with her and see if it could be used to make an appetizing meal. After taste testing her newest creation, a warm and addictive feeling appeared in her body and she experienced an emotion that was thought to not exist in bergens. She felt an overwhelming amount of happiness!

Chef Brawdy was so overjoyed that she told the King Gristle of her discovery immediately. The royal family wasn't convinced at first, so she was given the chance to find more trolls to serve to the king and queen as an evaluation.

They were glad to say that they weren't disappointed.

The royal husband and wife were filled with so much joy the moment they swallowed the trolls and they wanted to share it with their people. The king ordered his men to help his head chef gather every troll in the forest and paid the best construction workers to build a large cage that could keep their newfound glee inside.

It took a few weeks of chasing the tiny critters with nets, but they were able to find and catch every single troll that lived in the forest. After being placed in the cage they named the Troll Tree, the bergen celebrated with a banquet filled with bliss.

There were bergens that hesitated at the idea of eating cute creatures like the trolls, but chef Brawdy reassured everyone that trolls were so dumb from so much cheerfulness that they won't even notice that they're being eaten. With that in mind, everyone over the age of six feasted on a troll to finally be happy. After that, any doubt they had before was washed away by the delightful emotions growing inside their guts.

After that wonderful day, King Gristle and Queen Mod had a meeting with chef Brawdy about what needed to be done with this new discovery. They came up with three very important rules for the citizens of Bergen Town to follow that would apply to everyone with no exceptions for anyone and no excuses would be acceptable.

Rule number one was simple: trolls are solely to be consumed on the day the trolls were captured, which was now known as Trollstice. Anyone caught eating a troll on any other day will be punished instantly.

Rule number two was elementary: everyone gets one and one troll only. No second helping, no left overs from others, and no swiping remaining troll parts from the plates of others. Stealing someone else’s troll will be seen as a serious crime.

Rule number three was the easiest to follow: no one is to eat a troll child. It took some time to get used to feasting on trolls, but no one could bring themselves to eat kids. So it became an understandable rule that the youngest trolls were left alone until they were old enough to eat.

With that out of the way, Trollistice came to be and the people of Bergen Town finally had something to look forward to in life.

Chef Brawdy watched as the king approached the Troll Tree with his young son in his arms. She stood by the entrance to the Troll Tree with her four assistants by her side. Fred, Chad, Todd and Bob were the best at following orders and although they feared the head chef like everyone else, they also admired her skills in the kitchen and her powerful demeanor.

King Gristle Sr. was tall bergen with a plump body, moss green skin, a pine green nose, white hair around his bald spot, bushy eyebrows with a matching beard, hairy limbs, blood red eyes, and jagged teeth popping out of his lower lip. He wore a fancy brown suit, a purple cape with thick fluff around the rims and a gemstone for a half shank button, a gold crown on his head and sandals because he forgot to put on shoes while rushing over to the tree.

In his arms was Gristle Jr., the prince of Bergen Town. The boy was small and slightly bloated with mint green skin,shiny green hair, rudy red eyes and short limbs. He wore blue overalls, a red shirt underneath, a miniature version of his father’s cape and was bare footed.

“Good morning chef.” Greeted the king as he closed the distance between himself and his personal cook.

“Good morning your majesty.” Replied Brawdy. “Is my prince ready?”

“Of course he is! He’s been waiting for this day since he finally turned six.” King Gristle Sr. boasted with pride.

“I’ll take it from here then sire.” Chef Brawdy took Prince Gristle Jr.’s hand and led him inside of the Troll Tree.

“Am I really going to be happy Miss Brawdy?” Asked the green bergen with eyes full of curiosity and wonder.

“It’s chef Brawdy.” Chef Brawdy said through her forced smile. ”And yes you are Prince Gristle, just wait here and I’ll get you your troll.”

The chef left the boy to wait as she advanced towards the tree itself. Looking around, she saw the townspeople surrounding the cage and watching her astonishment as if she were about to perform an impossible stunt right in front of them.

Chef Brawdy loved the attention. It made her feel loved for her talents, respected by everyone and more powerful than the royal family. Most wouldn’t dare to insult or challenge King Gristle Sr. because of his stature and authority as their leader, but Brawdy wasn’t afraid because she knew something no one else does.

She has witnessed one of the three rules of Trollstice being broken by the king himself.

After Queen Mod's death, the king went into a deep depression, so the chef made him an offer he couldn't refuse thanks to his state of mind. She offered to collect a troll in secret for the king to gobble up to get him back on his feet.

King Gristle, being too upset to think clearly, accepted. So the royal chef quickly caught a troll without anyone knowing and watched as her griefing king swallowed up the helpless creature with a greedy smirk on her face because she did this for one reason and one reason only.

Blackmail material.

The king felt better almost instantaneously after he swallowed the troll. Soon afterwards he was moving on from his wife's death, unaware that his personal cook had tricked him into doing a terrible deed to use against him.

If King Gristle did anything to upset her, chef Brawdy would tell everyone that their king had broken his own rules and used his authority to avoid punishment. Or she could threaten to tell everyone and she could have more control over the town and its people.

And in just a minute, Prince Gristle Jr. would break a rule too.

The royal chef had informed King Gristle that while she was observing the trolls, she found one that was extra chirpy and jolly. Chef Brawdy then offered to give it to his son on his first Trollstice as a gift.

The king was more than welcome to her idea. He was a doting father and wanted his son's first troll to be the best of the batch. But what the king didn't know was that this troll was just a baby. If the prince were to eat this troll, she would have more blackmail to use against the king since he loves his son very much.

"Where is it? Where's my troll?" The young prince asked as he hopped in place. He just couldn't wait any longer!

The chef gave the prince her best smile as she walked over to a tiny pod hanging off one of the branches. One of her most trusted assistants had informed her that the baby was put in this pod to sleep every night.

She took out her smallest paring knife from her fanny pack and cut the pod down, letting it sit in her palm. The chef then peeled the petals off like an onion and quickly grabbed the troll before anyone could notice how small it was.

Chef Brawdy made sure no one could see anything other than the child's hair by wrapping her hands around the troll's entire body.

"Here she is my prince!" She said as she kneeled down. "This troll is the happiest, sunniest, and most blissful troll to ever exist. With this, you'll-" She had more to say, but Prince Gristle snatched the troll from her hand and put it in his mouth in the blink of an eye.

"Please make me happy little troll." The prince giggled as he waited for the happiness to kick in.

'Perfect!' Thought the chef with a devious smile. 'Now I have power over the king  _ and  _ the prince. I can't wait to see the look on their faces when I reveal that they've been hoodwinked!'

Everyone around the cage was watching and waiting for their prince to jump with joy, sing a happy song, dance around from the feelings that would soon appear from his stomach and spread to the rest of his body.

But none of that happened.

Instead, Prince Gristle's expression went from excitement to confusion and then disgust. The green boy spat out the troll he was chewing on and began to wipe his lips to get the awful taste out of his mouth.

Every single troll gasped and muttered at the phenomenon, but Chef Brawdy was horrified!

"What's wrong?" The royal chef asked, hoping whatever the problem was it wasn't anything serious.

"That one's rotten!" Complained the prince.

Chef Brawdy went up to the 'rotten' troll to inspect it, but instead of seeing a tiny blob of chewed up troll bits, it looked like it was still whole.

'Odd... Gristle Jr. was chewing  _ very  _ eagerly. How is it still in one piece?' She thought before picking up the pink haired troll. She took a look at it and gasped so loud that it startled everyone around her. This was not a baby troll. It was a wooden carving of a troll with pink hair glued on top!

The royal chef quickly checked the other pods for trolls, but they were all empty! She checked the bushes, the branches, the leaves, the trunk, and found nothing!

‘Oh no... This can't be happening…’ Thought the chef in horror. ‘This was the worst case scenario!’

"Chef Brawdy, what's going on?" Asked the king as he and his people watched the panicking cook.

"They're gone..." She whispered.

“What was that?”

"The trolls are gone!" She shouted for everyone to hear.

Every bergen in the small town that came to celebrate their favorite holiday were running around screaming their heads off in a panic. What were they going to do without any trolls to eat?! They finally found happiness after a lifetime of thinking it didn’t exist and now their key ingredient was gone!

"They're gone?! Then find them!" The king ordered as he carried his trembling boy home.

"Yes sire." Chef Brawdy and his four assistants checked the cage once more to make sure those damn trolls weren't just hiding somewhere.

"Chef, I-I think I found something!" Babbled Fred as he pointed to a hole underneath the roots of the trunk.

'They dug a tunnel?! Those little-! When I find them, I'm gonna cook them in oil!' The angry chef thought to herself. This was the worst thing to ever happen!

"Get the shovels!" She desperately ordered. "They've escaped through here and we have to start digging before they get away!"

**Underground with the trolls**

Today was the worst day of the year: Trollstice. Every troll in that damned cage was on edge even though they knew that they would be escaping soon because they were still scared of having to go through one more year of sorrow.

But luckily, King Peppy was informed in the middle of the night that the underpass was finally complete.

After the tunnel was confirmed to be stable, the orange king gathered everyone at the base of the tree to inform them of the long awaited news. He ordered everyone to gather their most precious items and wait for his next orders by the hole in the ground. Women and children were the first to go in with the men and elderly right behind them.

Right now, deep underground in the burrow, the runaway trolls were miles away from Bergen Town and closer to freedom than ever before.

King Peppy was at the very back of the group, making sure no one was left behind and that everyone was moving forward. At the moment, he was assisting a troll that twisted his ankle on a stray pebble. It wasn’t a serious injury, but the green troll won’t be able to walk on his own.

“I’m sorry your majesty.” The young man apologized as he watched the other trolls getting further and further away. “Please, go on without me.”

“No!” The strong willed king interrupted. “I refuse to leave without every single troll with me.” King Peppy lifted the wounded troll onto his back and gave him a piggyback ride the rest of the way.

So far, things have gone smoothly. Peppy hoped that most of his people made it to the other side already, but he had to put his focus on the trolls that were in the most danger. As of this moment, the older trolls that went falling behind need his attention.

Soon, the trolls froze in place as they felt the ground shake violently. One thought entered their minds at that moment: that the bergen were coming for them! King Peppy watched as his people slowed down from the terror of those monsters approaching.

“Don’t stop! They know we’re gone, but they don’t know where we are!” Peppy shouted, hoping to get them running again.

With the king watching over them, the remaining trolls bolted down the tunnel as fast as they could. They could see the morning light at the exit, meaning they were nearing the end of their escape.

But with the tunnel shuddering from whatever was going on above them, trolls were struggling and tripping over themselves. If they didn’t hurry, those begern were going to catch up and trap a few of them.

Luckily, King Peppy wasn’t going to watch anyone else die!

“No troll left behind!” He bellowed as he ran full speed ahead and helped every single troll that was having trouble.

The orange king counted seven trolls left in the tunnel and they still had a few more feet to jog before they could get away. It didn’t help that they could hear the terrible sound of the burrow that they poured their blood, sweat and tears into falling apart behind them.

“Hurry!  _ Hurry _ !!” Begged the king as he carried one injured troll and three senior trolls on his back.

"So that's it? No more trolls? No more Trollstice? No more happiness?!" King Gristle was beyond infuriated now. He needed to blow off all that steam and someone he could blame. "You were responsible for the trolls and you've lost them all in one day?! I trusted you! We  _ all  _ trusted you! How could you be such an idiot!"

…

Oh  _ hell  _ no!

"Idiot? Me, an idiot?!" Chef Brawdy was too enraged to stop herself from speaking her last words as a respected chef. "I'm the one who brought you Trollstice! It was me who made everyone happy! Who do you think you are, calling me anything less than a genius!? If anyone here's an idiot, it's you, you stupid winney insignificant little cretin!"

The entire throne room was mute after that outburst. Everyone present was dumbfounded by chef Brawdy's rude behavior towards the king. They knew she was a bully, but she never once spoke out of line with the king since he was her only superio with power over her.

And  _ wow  _ was it going to cost her.

"Guards, take her away!" Ordered King Gristle. "From this day forth, Brawdy is no longer any chef of mine and is hereby banished from Bergen Town forever!"

With that, the guards grabbed the head chef by her biceps and dragged her to the gates of Bergen Town. But not without the ex chef making a scene in front of everyone by kicking and screaming the entire way out.

"Who do you think you are?! You can't banish me! I'm the one who brought happiness to this scrubby place! All of you owe me your loyalty and respect!!" She shouted in outrage. But her screams were ignored by the glaring bergen as she was thrown out of town, leaving her on the other side of the locked gates.

**Present day**

'That useless king had the nerve to use me as a scapegoat and banish me for something that wasn't my fault!' Just thinking that embarrassing day made Brawdy's blood boil.

The ex-chef should've ratted him out sooner. If she had told a few people or spread rumors, then some of those bergen would have tried to defend her. Maybe she should have told her assistants about what the king did so they could use that information to help her when she was in trouble.

But no! She kept it all to herself so she could be the only person power over the king himself and now look where she was. She lived in a beat up mobile home she stole from the Bergen Town junkyard instead of her refined room in a castle. She ate anything she could find from this crummy forest instead of making herself delicious meals three times a day. She wore filthy cloth that she couldn't clean properly instead of her perfectly white chef uniform that she keeps neatly folded in a suitcase for safe keeping.

Chef Brawdy wasn't going to let this continue. It's been twenty years or so since her banishment and she wasn't going to let those fools get away with it. The second she gets the opportunity to take back everything that was stolen from her, she won't hesitate.

Then, like a sign from the heavens, there was a deafening sound coming from deep within the forest and fireworks being shot into the air. The famous chef watched as the rockets went up up up until they burst into the form of something she could recognize anywhere.

There were fireworks in the shape of a troll coming from the woods! And she would bet her chef's hat that those little rats lit the fuse.

With a new found curiosity, Brawdy used the pot of water to put out the fire and left to find the source of the light. Hopefully, this was the break she's been waiting for.

Fate was finally done screwing her over.

**Back in Pop Village**

After the fireworks ended, the party continued until way past midnight.

Everyone was currently having an awesome time dancing to the ever so popular song: 'Single Ladies'. But once the song ended, the music stopped completely and the lights around the village were dimmed down. A single spotlight was highlighting the stage, causing the trolls to send their attention to the person standing there by her friends.

The trolls of Pop Village were met with a breathtaking sight.

Poppy was on the mushroom stage with her famous smile. She was wearing the blue overskirt dress, making it impossible for anyone in the crowd to take their eyes off of her because she looked absolutely gorgeous! The aqua color made her pink skin pop, the silver glass stones scattered around the extensive cape around her waist and chest were beautifully lit by the spotlight, and the tiara made of blue petals with pink gems decorating the front complemented her hair nicely. 

Poppy's closest friends joined her on the stage, staying in the shadows to give the princess the crowd's attention. The nine trolls were beaming, glad to be with their best friend at her highest moment in life. Fuzzbert, Cooper, Smidge and DJ were quietly grinning while Biggie, Guy and the twins held back tears of joy. Creek was especially proud to see his crush standing proudly over her people, looking more attractive than ever before.

The yoga instructor decided right then and there that he would ask the princess to take their relationship to the next level during his dance with her later. If this wasn’t a sign from above to pop the question and officially make Poppy his girlfriend, he doesn’t know what is.

Everyone went silent as King Peppy walked on stage. He was smiling at the sight of his daughter in a ravishing dress. In just a few minutes, his little girl would officially be a grown woman.

"And now my dad, the hero who saved us from the bergen, has something he’d like to say to everyone." Poppy announced as she took her father's hand and helped him to the front of the stage.

Before King Peppy can step down as leader and give the princess her promotion to queen, he had to give a speech from the heart about his time as king and his faith in the next leader. Then he would remove the tiara made of flower petals and replace it with a crown made of leaf leaves, making Poppy’s new statues official. Once that was done, the Snack Pack would bring out the cake and everyone would sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to their new queen.

"From a young age, I worked hard to be the best king I could be. Even after losing my family, being captured by the bergen and being crowd king as a mere child, I still thrived to be a troll worthy of this title." He said in his warm voice. "There are still times when I question myself, wondering if I deserve this crown after everything we’ve been through together. But thanks to all of you wonder people, I can now say with absolute confidence that I was a great king and have made my parents proud."

The kind trolls gave their king a round of applause, shouted encouraging comments, gave him honest compliments and thank you’s filled with real gratitude.

Stomp... Stomp... Stomp... Stomp...

"Exactly twenty-one years ago, I was blessed with a wonderful daughter. She’s the light of our village, the kindest troll to ever exist, the person we all strive to be like and can do anything she puts her mind to.” Peppy said as he faced his loving child. “The truth is, she’s the reason we are here today. Poppy gave me the strength I needed, the strength I didn’t know I had, to lead you all here at our darkest times. She gave me many things I never thought I’d have without her here to inspire me and make me a proud parent. Which is why I have full confidence that she will lead our people to an even greater future than the one I’ve made here.”

Everyone was in tears at this point, overflowed with emotions from Peppy’s last speech as their king. But no one was crying more than Poppy at that moment, moved by her father’s words.

Stomp... Stomp... Stomp... STOMP…

"From here on out, Pop Village will be Poppy’s responsibility. She will be your leader, your role model, your voice, your mother figure, your hope and your heart. She will make the important decisions, be there for everyone that needs her and hold her head high the entire time. You may call her your queen, but she must also uphold herself as such." Peppy said as he took the leaf crown out from within his hair.

Poppy wiped her tears away and took a knee. She lowered her head and waited for her father to replace the tiara with the crown.

"I, King Peppy of Pop Village, name you..." King Peppy paused for dramatic flair, but then he began to scan the area for whatever was making those sounds. "Where is that sound coming from?"

STOMP... STOMP... STOMP... STOMP!

Peppy, Poppy, the Snack Pack and every other troll turned towards the source of that noise that appeared to be coming from behind them. At first, all they saw was the darkness of the forest, but then a figure slowly became visible to them the closer it closed in on them. Whatever it was, it was as tall as the trees and heading directly for them.

STOMP!...  **STOMP!... STOMP!... STOMP!...**

The sound of feet hitting the ground stopped, but that didn't make the villagers feel any better. If anything, they were all horrified by the monster that they could clearly see now that it was in the light. Those nasty feet, that rough skin, the intimidating height, those strong hands, the sharp teeth and gluttonous look in their eyes.

It was a bergen. There was a flipping bergen in their village!

"Gotcha." It said in a chilling voice.

  
  


**Name: Branch a.k.a. the village grump**

**Age: 25 (mentally in his 50's)**

**Birthstone: Garnet (constancy and loyalty)**

**Misc. Type: Pop/Rainbow**

**Loves: silence, rainy days, being alone, hot tea, doing hard work and his bunker.**

**Hates: loud parties, stupidity, gossip, people getting hurt, and his nightmares.**

**Fun Fact: Justin Timberlake voiced Branch because his naturally chirpy voice contracts Branch's grumpy attitude.**

**Motto: "Always be prepared for anything and everything."**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took a lot of work to do this chapter because I'm an invert with only one friend and I don't go to parties. I had to ask my sister and her crazy girlfriends for advice and this is what I ended up with. If any of you go to parties and see a problem, please tell me so I can fix it.
> 
> I never understood why in some movies, certain characters didn't have real names, like chef! Is her name seriously 'chef'? So her name will be Brawdy and she's the royal chef who discovered the key to happiness through trolls.
> 
> Also, I call B.S. that while Chef was picking off random trolls, she just so happens to grab all of Poppy's closest friends. With them being in a tight group while fleeing, that would make them a better target to the bergen.


	4. Branch's Bunker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will give you guys some insight to Branch and Poppy's current relationship as well as a view of Branch’s bunker. There are a few key differences to the bunker that I made and if you think there are details missing or my descriptions are confusing, please let me know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter came a lot earlier than I thought it would, but don’t get used to it just in case I go back to my bad habit of finishing up by the end of my deadline.
> 
> Anyways, this chapter will give you guys some insight to Branch and Poppy's current relationship as well as a view of Branch’s bunker. There are a few key differences to the bunker that I made and if you think there are details missing or my descriptions are confusing, please let me know.
> 
> "This is regular dialogue"  
> 'These are thoughts'  
> "Italics is for singing"  
> Underlines is a flashback  
> Bold is a setting or time change  
> "Underlines and italics is a Fuzzling speaking"  
> "Bold and italics is auto tune"  
> (Underlines in parentheses is a mini flashback)

Time ceased for what felt like forever as the smirking bergen admired the petrified troll at her feet. But the second the monster unzipped her fanny pack, Poppy remembered something a certain survivalist taught her. If you can't fight off or out run something dangerous, then hide from it!

“RUN!!!” The princess shouted at the top of her lungs, causing the villagers to snap out of their frozen state and scatter.

When Poppy and Branch were 'hanging out' a few years ago, the princess asked her future friend how he got so good at survival stuff. He told her that to survive, you needed to know three things: how to fight, run and hide. Surviving was about staying alive and staying alive meant doing a lot of laborious tasks. Avoiding dangerous situations, knowing everything about potential threats, having necessary information, being well equipped, knowing how to win against the odds and so much more.

Branch said that trolls used to use their hair for camouflage by wrapping it around themselves like a blanket and changing its color to their current environment. But nowadays, trolls use their special hair for minor things like traveling, playing games and flashy performances. The tall and thick trees that surrounded Pop Village provide enough protection from large birds, hostile animals and other predators that might see trolls as an easy meal, so there was no need for them to stay out of sight anymore. That skill was lost a long time ago because no one in the village was taught how to use their hair for camouflage purposes. Today proves that that was a big mistake.

But there _was_ someone at the party who actually did know how to do it: Poppy!

After Branch's quick history lesson about the many functions of troll hair, the pink troll asked the grey troll if he could teach her how to do that (for fun purposes of course). He accepted on the terms that she takes his lessons seriously and not goof off since this could save her life one day. Poppy still couldn't believe he was right about that too! The two trolls shook on it and the village grump taught the princess everything he knew about concealment. It was like a game of hide and seek, except that Branch's version was way more intense because of how good he was at tracking her down and giving chase. It took a full month of the Branch giving the princess ten minute to lie low before he quite literally hunted her down, but she eventually got the hang of it.

It was easy as long as Poppy paid attention to her surroundings, matched her hair with the things around her, cloaked herself properly without missing a spot, stayed perfectly still, didn’t make a sound and made sure that the cost was clear before moving. Easy! Ever since then, Poppy became a pro when playing hiding games.

"Blend in!" Poppy shouted as she ran towards a group of panicking trolls. "Blend in with the wildlife!"

Every troll that heard their princess quickly did as they were told and looked for a place to hide. They hid under mushrooms, within the tall grass, ran towards the hollowed out tree trunk and jumped into pits in the ground.

As the princess ran to the aid of her people, she found it hard to move with the stiff skirt wrapped around her lower half. Poppy groaned as she grabbed the scissors from her hair and cut two diagonal openings up to her thighs to gain the freedom to run for her life and the lives of others. Satin and Chenille were going to kill her when she gave them the dress back, but she could be murdered by them after she saved everyone from the bergen!

Chef Brawdy watched as the trolls ran away from her. She didn't know which trolls to pick out of all of them since they were all different shapes, colors and sizes. And watching helpless creatures running away like headless chickens was an endless amount of entertainment. But then the ex chef spotted the perfect batch of trolls in a tight pack. Literally! She watched as a small group of various trolls jumped off of the mushroom where that orange and pink troll was performing or something and idiotically ran away bunched up together. But they didn't get far.

As Poppy finished helping some trollings use their hair to hide in the grass, she watched in horror as her best friends were all scooped up by the bergen! Said bergen caught them all at once with her boney hands, not bothered by their struggles to escape her fingers.

_“Let us go, you monster!”_

“Oh my gawd!”

“We’re gonna die!”

_**“Help! Someone help!”** _

“Wiggle! Wiggle like there’s no tomorrow!”

Nothing the Snack Pack did worked. They were helpless to stop Brawdy from stuffing them into the old fanny pack.

“Guys!” Poppy ran towards the intruder in a desperate attempt to save her closest friends. But before she could do anything to free her besties, she saw King Peppy of all trolls hitting the bergen’s foot with his cane.

“Give back those trolls!” The king ordered as he whacked the ex chef’s toes. “Leave my home at once!”

Chef Brawdy chuckled at the pathetic ‘rescue’ and was delighted to see another stupid troll to add to her collection. But before she could grab a hold of the orange troll, a pink troll tackled him out of the way and made a break for the closest bush. The bergen looked at her hand and saw that there was a piece of blue fabric that sparkled in the light caught on one of her sharp nails. The chef guessed that this was clothing from one of the trolls she caught and carelessly flicked it off as she chased after the royal family.

Brawdy watched as the two trolls ran into a small shrub and followed them. She bent over and moved the leaves aside to catch a few more trolls but all she saw were the brown roots, grey rocks and green moss. She couldn’t see a speck of orange or pink or any other color for that matter.

Giving up on those two, Brawdy stood up and looked around one more time for any signs of trolls near her. But sadly, it looks like they were either hidden very well or had run far enough away to be unseen. She didn’t care about any of them though. The ex-chef was more than thrilled to have a handful of trolls that she could use for her long awaited revenge plans. After two miserable decades, she wasn’t going to waste a single minute doing anything other than climb back up the social ladder of Bergen Town!

"Thank you for being the stupid pests I always knew you were." She mocked before leaving the village.

Poppy didn’t dare move until she was a thousand percent sure that the bergen was gone. It took a few minutes of waiting for the princess to gain the courage to unwrap her greened hair from herself and her father and come out of hiding. The second she was out of the bush and in view of her villagers, they came out of their own hiding spots and surrounded the pair of royal trolls.

"Is it coming back?" Asked a scared young lady.

"How did it find us?" Asked a shaky little girl.

"Did it get anyone?" Asked a worried elderly man.

"What should we do?" Asked a mother holding her crying child.

'What _should_ we do?' Thought the guilt ridden princess. 'This wasn't supposed to happen. A bergen wasn't supposed to be here, my friends shouldn't have been taken, and my people should not be scared for their lives. What should we do? What should _I_ do?'

Luckily, King Peppy recovered quickly and took charge. “I know exactly what we have to do.”

There was a tense silence as everyone waited for their leader’s advice.

"We must leave immediately!" The king shouted hysterically before spouting his next orders. "I want everyone to gather food, water, and other necessities for our long journey to home number three!"

Nobody argued nor did they waste any time as they split up and did as they were told. All but Poppy, who stared at her father with a dumbfounded look on her face.

"What?! Dad, we can't leave yet!" Poppy corrected. “Some trolls are gone and we have to save them! Plus, I’m the queen now and I think we should-"

“No you're not.” The orange troll butted in. “I haven’t placed the crown on your head, so you’re still a princess. We’ll finish the coronation ceremony once we’re all safe.” The pink troll was outraged by her father’s attempt at leaving trolls behind.

“That’s so unfair! Are you trying to be a hypocrite and go back on your promise to us?!”

"I’m sorry, but there’s nothing we can do for them." Peppy was extremely upset with himself for failing to save those trolls, especially because they were so close to his daughter. But what could he do now that the bergen had them in it’s powerful grip?

"But they're my best friends and you swore you'd protect everyone! What happened to 'no troll left behind'?" Poppy couldn’t believe her ears. Was her father suggesting that they left some trolls to die so everyone else could escape?

"I'm sorry, I truly am sorry but I'm not the man I used to be." Peppy sadly admitted, his voice growing drowsy. "I'm too old for this, no one else can handle this intense situation and you definitely don't know what you're getting yourself into. You’ve never been more than a mile away from the village and you can only help trolls when their problems are easy as pie!"

King Peppy cringed at the pained look on Poppy’s face after hearing that jab at her flaws, but he wasn’t going to take it back. He should've prepared her for a scenario like this years ago but he didn’t and these were the consequences. This was all Peppy’s fault and he had to help the trolls before anyone else is put in jeopardy, but he knew that Poppy’s stubborn nature would put her in peril if he didn’t do something to stop her firm beliefs. And if that meant breaking his own daughter’s spirit, then so be it.

“Please understand, leaders have to make the hard choices no one can make. Sacrifice a few people to save everyone else is something a leader has to do sometimes. I will take the blame for tonight and we can talk more about this later, but we have to leave now.” The king explained with a gentle tone this time.

"But dad..." The shaken girl whispered in an aching voice.

“Do you have a better idea?” Peppy challenged the princess to bring his point home.

Poppy wanted to cry out in a fit of rage and agony. She couldn't help but be offended by her father's statement since he was praising her just a few minutes ago, but then she realized that he's completely right about her. She may be a princess, but she never had to deal with anything other than ordinary village problems.

Her father gave everyone thirty years worth of hope and saved every single troll from certain doom without any casualties. And what has she done after King Peppy rescued them? Poppy threw some parties, taught kids how to make muffins, resolved disputes between friends and sang a lot of songs. Now that the pink troll thought about it, she wasn’t a very good princess which meant she’d make an even worse queen.

Poppy didn't know what to do...

...

But she knew someone who would!

**In the secret bunker**

Branch sighed for the seventh time in the last twenty minutes. He left Poppy's party a few hours ago and decided to do some light reading since he didn't feel tired enough to go to sleep.

After finishing one of his favorite books, the very unpopular Trollio and Juliet, he decided to take a seat in front of his writing desk and stared at the nicely crafted invitation Poppy gave him that morning. He couldn't help but admire the amount of work the princess (probably queen by now) must have put into it. He was glad to learn that the glitter cannon was a one time thing as he listened to the recording of Poppy singing the same lyrics on repeat and noticed the many details that were crammed into one piece of folded paper.

And he knew for a fact that none of the other invitations were like this one.

While walking home after running into the Snack Pack, Branch stumbled upon another invitation to Poppy’s birthday party/coronation ceremony that was being swept away by the wind. After catching it, the village grump opened it and noted that it was just a yellow card with ‘Your invited to my party! Come to the middle of the village by sundown and we’ll have a great time together!’ in red letters and nothing more. There was no glitter, no song, no pop-up figures and the grey troll could tell that Poppy had these made in a factory.

But the princess made his invitation with her own two hands and put her heart and soul into every piece of paper.

She was quite the overachiever when it came to her parties. The grey troll decided that he had important work to do tomorrow and called it a night. But before he could get ready for bed, he had to put the invitation away. He carefully closed the card to make sure that nothing inside was damaged and placed it in a large trunk filled with many other invitations like it.

Everyone thinks he didn't keep or even like the cards that the perky princess gave him. They think he throws them away, burns them, rips them up, feeds them to the puffalos or even uses them as toilet paper. But the truth was the exact opposite. Branch kept all of them. Every single invitation Poppy gave him over the years were safely hidden in a trunk against the footboard of his bed for him to look at whenever he felt extra down in the gutter.

They reminded him that he wasn't alone even when he wanted to be and that he wasn't as hated as he thinks he is. The grey troll wasn't as cold hearted as everyone thought he was, but nothing he did or said would change their minds about him and Branch knew that painfully well.

He’ll never forget the day he met the one troll who wasn’t flustered by his very presence.

**About 10 years ago**

Princess Poppy has heard rumors of a grey troll in the village from talking to the other children and overhearing the adults talking. But she didn't know whether or not they were true because it all sounded surreal to her. She thought that it was silly for a troll to be grey. Grey was for rainy clouds and rocks, not trolls. 

And the rumors were really weird. The kids said stuff about this grey person being really sick or that they were actually a monster in a bad troll disguise trying to blend in with them. And the grown ups keep using big words when they talk about this troll like 'disturbed', 'pesky', 'inconvenient', 'rebellious,' and 'aggravating'. 

What do those words even mean? 

But then, while galloping around the supermarket with King Peppy, the princess spotted a troll in the distance that didn't have bright skin and vibrant hair. Poppy didn't get a good look at them and she wanted to follow them to confirm these odd rumors, but she couldn't at the moment. 

Today was the first time her dad wasn't holding her hand while grocery shopping. The pink troll convinced her father yesterday that she was a big girl now and didn't need him holding her hand every time they went out. He agreed to this as long as she didn't wander off, so she had to stay by his side or she'd risk losing Peppy's trust. 

Poppy watched helplessly as the pale figure disappeared through the exit and regretfully continued to follow the king. She wasn't as chirpy after losing her target and quietly watched her father pick out berries and put them in his basket. 

'Hey...' Thought the princess as she watched her father pick out carrots. 'Dad's the king and he knows everything about everyone! Maybe he knows who the grey troll is!' 

  
  


**Hours later in the royal pod**

"Daddy?" Poppy called out as she skipped around the royal pod looking for her dad. 

"Yes dear?" Her father's voice was coming from the kitchen. 

"Can a troll be grey?" She asked innocently as she strolled into the kitchen to watch her father cook. For some reason, King Peppy flinched at the unexpected question. 

"Well... Yes and no." He answered with hesitation. 

"Hu?" The princess tilted her head in confusion, making her look absolutely adorable. 

King Peppy turned the stove off and motioned his daughter to follow him into the living room. She did so and watched the older troll sit down in his favorite rocking chair. 

"Come here sweetie. I think we should talk about this more." King Peppy told his daughter. The princess walked over to her father and he picked her up to sit her on his lap. 

"Why?" She didn't get why her bushy browed father was taking this so seriously. What was wrong with her question? Grey's just another color, right? 

"Trolls _can_ be grey but they shouldn’t. When they are, that's a very bad sign." He explained, trying to be specific as possible for his young daughter to understand. 

"Why?" Grey was bad? Was this troll sick like those kids said? They should see a doctor! 

"Us trolls come in every color of the rainbow." King Peppy explained. "Is grey in the rainbow?" 

"Nu uh. There's red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. And pink, like me!" Poppy said, proud of herself for remembering the old song that taught her the names of all the colors. 

"That's right. So when a troll is grey, it means that they've lost their color." 

"It's lost? How does that happen?" Poppy asked with a pout. She knew that trolls loved colors, so the thought of someone losing their own made her heart hurt. 

"When a troll is very sad and can't stop that sadness from growing, they lose their color." 

"They're sad?" Poppy asked with worry in her pink eyes. 

The princess has been sad a few times before and she knew what an awful feeling it was. When she lost her favorite stuffed bug a few years ago, she felt a strange pain in her chest and it became hard for her to smile. And when she heard a story with a tragic ending, it made her eyes water in sympathy for the characters. 

"Yes Poppy, they're very _very_ sad. So sad that it broke their heart and they can't fix it." Peppy explained as best he could to his child. 

"But why?" She asked, hoping to understand as much as possible. Being unhappy was horrible, so the princess did whatever she could to help trolls who were upset. 

"I’m sure you’ll never find out for yourself." King Peppy did know a few reasons why a troll would lose their color, but he's not going to explain that to his little girl. Nope! Heck, he's been close to becoming grey himself back when he and his people were imprisoned by the bergen. 

Peppy has had his home destroyed, was kidnapped along with his loved one, his parents were eaten, He was crowned king as a teenager, helplessly watched many of his trolls die and felt too weak to do anything about it. He's been uncomfortably close to losing his colors, but he forced himself to be strong with sheer will power for the sake of his people. 

"Are they stuck like that forever?" Poppy didn't want trolls to be sad forever. Just a minute of sadness was terrible, so forever must be a lot worse. 

"No, greyness can be cured." Peppy reassured her. "But it's not easy." 

"Why not? They just have to stop being sad, right?" Poppy remembered feeling a lot better when she was down after someone gave her a hug and some candy. It couldn't be _that_ hard. 

"It's not that simple dear. I wish it were, but it's not." 

“But why?” Poppy asked one more to get some insight on this complex topic. 

“I’ll tell you more when you’re older.” The orange troll concluded. “Any more questions?” 

There was a minute of silence as the young princess laid her head on Peppy’s chest to think about what she was told. Listening to her father’s heart beating strongly gave her the comfort and courage to ask her most important question. 

"Is there a grey troll here?" She had to know. Maybe there was something she could do to help this troll get their color back! 

"...Yes, but you shouldn't bother him." King Peppy quickly said, hoping his daughter doesn't get any ideas. The orange king knew this grey troll well enough to know that he could guess that the boy wanted nothing more than to be left alone. It's odd for a troll to be an introvert, but his case was understandable. But dismally, everyone else isn't as understanding. 

He knew that his people have been saying bad things and spreading rumors about the poor boy behind his back. Peppy was disappointed by this behavior, especially when the children were copying them, but there wasn't much he could do about it. Even if he lectured the villagers about tittle-tattle or ordered them to stop, they would find ways to keep talking smack when their king wasn't listening. 

'Him? So it's a boy!' Poppy realized and smiled at the revelation. 'But why's he sad?' 

"Where does he live? Why's he so sad? Can I play with him? What's his name?" Poppy asked without missing a beat, making the king smile at his daughter's kindness. 

"His name is Branch." Peppy wasn't going to tell her that he lived by himself outside the village or that he didn't play with the other kids. That would make his stubborn princess want to drag the grey boy back into the village against his wishes. 

"I wanna be his friend!" Poppy declared as she climbed off of her father’s lap. 

“I know you do, but it’ll be difficult. Branch is a quiet boy and is by himself most of the time.” The king clarified as he went back to the kitchen to finish the stew. 

“That’s okay, I’m good at making people happy.” The princess stated with full confidence as she ran out the pod. “Bye dad! I’ll be back soon!” 

King Peppy shook his head and chuckled at his daughter’s silly yet endearing behavior. She truly did have a heart of pure gold. 

**In the playground**

The playground was a rowdy place for trollings to play together while their parents went to work. It was a cute white picket fence in the shape of a square that had a lot of toys inside and a giant jungle gym with slides, swings and a bunch of other stuff to have fun with. 

Poppy began her search by asking the other kids a simple question. “Have you seen a troll named Branch around here?” 

But to the pink troll’s dismay, no one has ever seen a grey troll by that name in there before. Her dad wasn’t kidding when he said that Branch liked to be alone. Every single kid in the village loved the playground so hearing that this boy hasn’t stepped foot through the gates was difficult to believe. 

Luckily, a little girl around Poppy’s age had some useful information about her new friend! 

“I think he’s behind the bushes near the healing pod. I don’t know why, but he’s there a lot.” The orange girl with hot pink hair informed Poppy as she climbed up the steps of the slide. 

With a hurried thank you, Poppy ran to the healing pod where sick or injured trolls go to get treatments and medication. She couldn’t help but worry that this boy was hurt in some way. 

**By the healing pod**

After finding the pod she was looking for, Princess Poppy didn’t waste any time and burst through the leaves and twigs of the bushes to get to the other side. But then she tripped over a pebble and landed flat on her face with a loud ‘oof’! 

The pink troll pushed herself off the ground and sat on her knees to wipe the dirt off of her cheeks and chin. A small gasp escaped her lips when she saw a grey hand in front of her, waiting for permission to help the downed girl to her feet. 

Poppy raised her gaze up this person’s arm and met their equally grey face. 

This may have been her first time seeing a grey troll, but she quickly realized that he's not as scary as the rumors made him out to be. He's just like any other troll, but grey! 

This trolling had grey skin, black hair and he was wearing shorts that were the darkest shade of green she’s ever seen. Poppy noticed that he had a jar in his other hand with something yellow and oval-shaped inside that she recognized as seeds. But what she couldn't ignore was the frown he wore on his young face. That’s what disturbed her the most, not the made-up stories or the skin color, but the sour expression. 

"Hello!" She greeted with her winning smile as she took the boy’s hand and let him pull her up. The princess learned from experience that smiles were contagious so the more she smiled, others would eventually smile back. 

Which is why it confused her when the boy didn't respond. He just looked her up and down before turning around and kneeled next to a thyme. He then proceeded to pick its seeds and put them in the jar. 

"I said 'hello' so you have to say 'hello' back." Poppy explained with an even bigger grin to catch his attention. But that didn't work either because the boy got up and walked away from her! 

"Wait! I wanna talk to you!" The princess shouted as she ran after him. "Your Branch, right? My name’s Poppy!" 

Still no answer. Weird... 

"Wanna play a game? Like tag? Or hide an' seek? Or leapfrog? Do you wanna come to my pod and color with me? I have coloring books with flowers and butterflies. I have snacks too." The pink princess continued to list off things they could do together, unaware that the grey boy wasn't listening to a thing she was saying. 

Branch mutely turned his head to get another look at her, studying the troll who wouldn't leave him alone for some reason. Normally, whenever another kid approached him, he would do one of three things: he would either ignore them until they leave, walk away so they’d take the hint or tell them something scary based on the gossip he's heard to make them so uncomfortable that they left. 

Sometimes an adult will spot him with another trolling, take them away and tell them to 'stay away from the grey troll'. Why? Because apparently he was dangerous and others might catch his bad attitude. 

So what’s up with this girl? She’s Princess Poppy, so shouldn’t she be as far away from him as possible? But instead she alone with him, she willingly took his hand when he offered it, she wasn't leaving no matter how long he gave her the listening treatment, she was still following him in circles and there was no one else around to take her back to the king. 

The grey boy watched as she spoke ceaselessly with a bubble voice, wore a yellow dress with lime green leaf patterns, made random gestures with her tiny arms, walked with a skip in every step and she never stopped smiling. Branch couldn't help but wonder if her cheeks ever ached from all that gri nning. 

'What's wrong with her?' He thought as the girl continued to talk about what game they should play. 'She won't leave and she’s not shut up. Did King Peppy send her? No, he knows I don’t like company. So why’s she here asking to play with me?' 

Branch continued to walk around the edge of the village to lose the talkative child, but she was right behind him and hadn't slowed down her endless rambling. Not even a little! Giving up his attempt at shooing her away, he halted in place and faced her. 

"You need to leave." Branch finally spoke with a hint of irritation in his voice. 

"You can talk!" Poppy shouted at the top of her lungs in exhilaration. “That’s great because now we can be friends!” 

“No we’re not.” He stated as he crossed his arms. “You’re going home and I’m staying here to finish what I was doing.” 

“What were you doing anyways?” Poppy asked, completely ignoring his subtle way of saying ‘go away I’m busy’. 

Branch groaned as he held out the jar he’s been holding this entire time. “I’m getting seeds for my garden.” 

“That’s so cool!” The pink troll complemented. She knew how hard it was to take care of a garden, so seeing this boy gathering seeds to grow plants from scratch was amazing to her. “What flowers do you have? Roses? Or tulips? Or daisies? Or sunflowers? Or lilies? Or-” 

“Stop talking already! Geez, can’t you take a hint?!” Branch yelled at the younger troll. He didn't mean to raise his voice but _wow_ was he getting tired of hearing her speaking without stopping to take a breath. 

“I’m sorry...” Poppy apologized meekly as she lowered her head in shame. No one has ever yelled at her before and she felt like she deserved to be scolded for bothering her new friend. 

For some reason, seeing this girl in a doleful mood made Branch feel guilty for causing it. It was probably because she’s the first person to try and be nice to him in years. Most trolls nowadays ask questions that were too personal, stare at him rudely, gossip about him, keep their distance from him or harass him because they think he’s freaky. 

So not wanting to be a bully, Branch took a deep breath. “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have yelled.” And like a flip of a switch, the pink girl was smiling again as if none of that ever happened. 

“That’s okay!” She said in her cheerful voice. “Can we play now?” 

“I’m busy, remember?” 

Branch walked back towards the thymes to collect a few more seeds. And Poppy was _still_ following him. 

“So...what do you have in your garden?” She asked again, this time making sure to keep it brief. 

“I grow herbs.” The grey boy explained calmly. 

That explained why he was by the healing pod in the first place. That pod was medium sized and it was placed near a large garden of medical herbs so that the doctors can have easy access to the plants they need to make medicine for their patients. 

“That’s so cool.” Poppy complimented. “I bet your mom and dad are really good with plants too.” 

The grey troll didn't answer her. He only took another deep breath and gave her a quick nod. 

“Can you go now? I still have a lot to do.” Branch asked as politely as he could. 

“I can help if you want. That way you can finish faster and we can play when you’re done.” Poppy genuinely offered and was more than ready to do some chores if it meant playing with Branch afterwards. 

“I don’t like games.” 

“Why not?” 

“I just don’t. So please leave me alone.” 

“But friends don’t leave each other alone.” She didn’t want this boy to be sad anymore and keeping him company should help a little bit. 

“We’re not friends.” 

Now _that_ caught her attention. Did he really _not_ want to be friends? So she asked for confirmation in a small voice. “Are you sure?” 

“Yes. Can you go now?” 

Poppy gave him a small nod and strolled back into the village to give Branch the space he desired. But not before making a promise that would stick with her for a very long time. 

“I’ll be your friend one day Branch! I swear I will!” Poppy shouted in his direction with a sweet smile as she went home. 

Branch heard her loud and clear and a sense of dread grew in his gut. He had a bad feeling about this... 

**Present Day**

That was years ago and Poppy's been doing everything she possibly could to get Branch to accept her friendship. But after a lot of trying, she still hasn't achieved it.

As Branch finished buttoning up the brown shirt of his PJ set, he let that small yet meaningful fact sink in. Poppy hasn't given up on him no matter how rude or nasty he was towards her. But why is that? He never understood how the pink troll put up with him when she had better things to do, especially when she was the princess and had dozens of other trolls that needed her.

He shouldn’t think about it too much. The grey troll decided a long time ago that he and Poppy couldn’t have any sort of relationship and that she should focus on more important things than befriending him of all trolls.

Branch wrapped himself in the soft blanket, laid his head on the pillow, and closed his eyes. He hoped with all his might that Poppy would give up on him one day. He didn't want to open up to her, but she made pushing others away so much harder with her stupidly sweet efforts!

If he let his guard down, all of his walls will come down and he fears that he won't be able to rebuild them.

If he actually did talk to the pink troll about his personal demons, they would both be hurt in the end. He didn't mind the pain since he’s already adapted to it and he was willing to be a jerk if it meant Poppy would finally avoid him like everyone else, but he won't forgive himself if he harmed the optimistic troll on a deeper level than just feelings.

But the thought of a troll having faith in him was...comforting. And he appreciated that.

With though depressing thoughts that he has way too often out of the way, he got into a comfortable position on his side and waited for sleep to consume him.

...

BANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANG!!!

'The hell is that?!' Thought the paranoid troll as he sat up and threw his covers off. 'Who's knocking? Why are they here this late at night?!' Then he came to the most logical conclusion.

"Poppy..." He mumbled in annoyance as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

'Yup.' He thought as he got out of bed and took off his pajamas. 'I'll have to do something about this.' He appreciated her, but that doesn't mean he'd let her knock on his door at any hour of the day. Or more specifically, at any hour of the night!

'How should I go about this...' He thought as he put his shorts and vest back on. 'I'll lead her into one of my net traps and keep that big baby there all night to teach her not to bother me in the middle of the night! For god's sakes, it's past midnight!'

**Outside with Poppy**

Poppy stood on the mat with 'GO AWAY' in bold white letters and knocked on the door nonstop. Branch was inside and she needed him now more than ever!

"Branch! Branch! _Branch_ ! Open up please! _It's an emergency_!!" Poppy stopped banging her fist against the wooden door when she saw a small slot on the door open. She could see Branch's baby blue eyes glaring at her for the sudden visit.

"Poppy, I'm not going to your party. If you keep this up I'll-"

"Forget the party!" Poppy cut him off, startling the grey troll. "A bergen showed up and attacked us!"

The second thoughts words left her mouth, Branch didn't waste a second. He opened the door, pulled the pink troll inside so fast that he might’ve given Poppy whiplash and the gray troll looked her over for any signs of injuries.

He noticed how dusty and unkempt the pink troll's hair was, so he guessed that she hid the way he taught her too when the bergen arrived. Branch saw a part of her dress had been ripped off from the shreds of shiny fabric hanging onto her hips and that the sides were roughly cut open to reveal her legs. The village grump concluded that Poppy must have cut up her own outfit in order to better her movement.

But what really worried Branch was that she wasn't smiling and her usually steady hands were trembling. Since he's met the princess, the grey troll has never once seen Poppy so shaken and warry before.

"Are you hurt? Is the bergen still out there? Were you followed?" He fired question after question in hopes of getting answers as soon as possible.

"I'm fine and it's gone now. And yes, I was followed." Poppy quickly replied to get to the important part. "Branch I need-"

"You were followed?!" Branch yelled in a panic. If there was a bergen right outside of his home, then he had to take it down ASAP!

"Uuuh, not exactly?" Poppy played with her hands anxiously, knowing he'd be super mad at her for what she was about to ask.

"Either you were followed or you weren't so which is it!?" Branch demanded. He had to know so he could take appropriate action immediately!

"I was followed, but only because I lead them here." Poppy tried to clarify to her hysterical friend.

"What does that even mean?!" If Branch didn’t get a straight answer soon, he was going to pull his own hair out from the stress.

Instead of explaining, Poppy opened the door they came through and showed Branch the crowd of trolls waiting outside for their princess.

" _Ah_. That makes more sense." Branch commented as he regained his composer and scanned the huge crowd of trolls.

"Is it okay if we borrowed your bunker for a bit? I swear it'll only be until this is over and I'll make sure everything that’s used is replaced with something better!" Poppy bargained, ready to get on her knees and beg if Branch says he denied them entry.

"Poppy, I’ll have to-"

"Wait!" The princess interrupted the survivalist. "I know what you're gonna say and I just want you to know that we admit that you were right about everything. We should have listened to you but we didn't and now we're in a whole lot of trouble."

"What? I don't-"

"And you should know that I'm sorry for taking your warning lightly and I promise I'll make it up to you! I'll take whatever you say seriously from now on and I'll even learn how to do all of the stuff you do." Poppy interrupted again, afraid to have her chance slip away because of her past actions.

"Can I speak now or-?" Branch asked with a deadpan look to no one in particular, only to be ignored again.

"And I know we shouldn't be asking for your helping after what we've done to you, but if you could find it in your heart to-"

"Will you shut up for one minute!?" Branch snapped, successfully silencing the pink troll. "Finally! Now help me get everyone inside. That bergen could still be out there!" Branch ordered while opening the door to his home wide open for his guests.

"Wait, you'll let us stay?!" Poppy wasn't the only one in shock. Every troll behind her thought they would have to beg the village grump to allow them inside or wait for the king to order the grey troll to let them in or even help tie Branch up to get inside.

The slack jaws and bewildered looks only served to irritate Branch though.

"Don't be so surprised." The village grump spat before going inside. "I'll explain after everyone's safe."

"Thank you so much Branch!" Poppy tried to hug the paranoid troll, but he moved out of the way before she could touch him.

While Poppy stayed outside to lead her citizens in, Branch went back inside to get everything ready.

The inside of Branch's 'house' was lit with glowing flowers, flowers that glow when shaken, and are here only for when Poppy came over. There was a large living room on the far left with a couch, a coffee table and a bookshelf. The right side had a small kitchen with an oven, a mini fridge and cabinets. And finally, there was a restroom in the upper left corner with a functioning toilet, shower and sink.

On the opposite side of the door were three sticks in the ground that served as levers. Two of them were against the wall together while the third lever was placed on what appeared to be a round piece of wood. Branch installed them a few years ago when his bunker was getting too deep for a simple ladder.

Branch first pulled the thicker lever against the wall as it made clicking sounds and the piece of wood with the lone lever attached to it slowly lowered itself to the very bottom of the bunker like an elevator.

Once the wooden platform was all the way down, he pulled the thinner lever. It moved more smoothly and caused planks of wood to pop out of the walls of the pit to form a circular staircase.

The village grump watched as Poppy walked in with the large number of trolls behind her. They entered the fake house, looking around curiously but still petrified from the attack.

The trolls stood before Branch, waiting for the grey troll to say 'I told you so' with a smug look on his face and lecture them on how right he was. But instead, the grey troll wordlessly pointed towards the stairs as an approval to enter.

Everyone was baffled by his calmness, but silently followed their princess down the steps to get to safety.

Branch gave a few instructions to the trolls as they went down the stairs. "Step lightly. Only two trolls at a time, okay? And no pushing or running." Normally when the grey troll gave others warnings or directions, they would ignore him or snap at him for his attitude. But not today.

"Be careful, two trolls, and no running. Got it!" Poppy reassured her savior as she scooped the area.

Poppy has never been in the bunker before. She knew where it was and she'd been inside the 'house' when she came to visit, but not down here. While she walked down the stairs, she saw rooms that led to a garden, a weapon rack (what the-?!), a gym and enough supplies to last him decades!

Once she was at the very bottom of the bunker, Poppy spotted two levers next to the platform that were similar to the ones Branch used a second ago so they might have the same fictions. She got a good look around and was surprised by how big it was down there.

The princess was in an underground room with a massive amount of space. It was enough space for her people to walk around comfortably and not feel too crowded. There were a few thick sticks placed a foot apart from each other to support the weight above them like columns. She saw that on the wall farthest from her were shelves along the walls were full of blankets, pillows, medicine, books, first aid kits and other supplies neatly put together and labeled.

On her left were a few doors that lead to different rooms and Poppy took a peek inside them. One of them leads into a restroom for males and another for females with multiple toilets, sinks and showers (like the ones at the gym). The other door led to closets full of more supplies that were less necessary but could be of use later like fabric, tools, firewood and a bunch of other useful stuff. There was one more door in the very far corner of the room, but it was locked tight with the words 'For Extreme Emergencies Only' painted on.

Poppy noticed that there was a large kitchen on the right that was fit for a popular restaurants with a walk-in fridge full of freezy flowers (flowers that expel cold air), a stove with many burners, cabinets filled with kitchen utensils, a giant sink with a tank of soap and boxes of plates and silverware. She took a look at the dirt walls and noticed that there were tables mounted on to keep the space as open as possible. (Like the tables in school auditoriums that are used when it's raining.)

On the last wall had a large map of the forest pinned to the center with different colored needles to mark which areas were dangerous, safe, unexplored and so on. There were pictures of predators and other animals that lived in their forest with little sticky notes stuck to each of them to hold bits of information about the creatures. There was also a drafting table with a few note books, blue prints, normal sized maps and text books for future plans and project ideas.

Every troll that set foot in the bunker were amazed by what they saw. The villagers made jokes about Branch’s constant preparations for whatever it was that worried him, but now no one could argue that the village grump was truly ready for anything.

But Poppy couldn’t help but realize that this entire floor was conveniently spacious and stocked up with enough supplies for everyone to last at least days or maybe weeks. It was almost like Branch was expecting everyone in the village to be down here at some point…

**An hour later**

It took a while, but everyone was finally inside. Branch and King Peppy were the last two trolls inside. Peppy had stayed behind to make sure no one was missing and Branch was helping him down the steps. The old king didn't want to admit it, but his back wouldn’t have been able to take a long flight of stairs. He was more than glad that Branch offered to help him all the way down by allowing the orange troll to hold onto his strong arms for support.

Once the two of them arrived at the bottom of the stairs, King Peppy thanked the grey troll for the assistance and left to join the rest of his people. Branch spotted Poppy approaching him with an odd look on her face.

“Hey, can we-”

“Is this everyone?” Branch cut off before the pink troll could finish her sentience.

“Yeah, that’s everyone.” Poppy established.

With the confirmation he needed, Branch pulled on the thin lever to retract the steps and pushed the thicker lever back all the way to send the platform back up.

"Hey Branch?

“Yeah?”

“What is this place?" Poppy had to know. If he did this for them, then that would mean-

"It's a safe house for everyone." Branch answered simply as he walked over to his desk. "It took a lot of elbow grease, but I'm glad I did it. I'd rather have enough room for everyone than have my bunker filled to the brim with trolls."

"So, this place is for us?" Poppy asked, feeling emotional at Branch's kind act. He wasn't a loner that only worried about himself like village thought. The princess was right all along about him being a hardworking guy who cares about the safety of others.

Branch explained himself way too nonchalantly. "Kinda. I built this level the day you first knocked on my door. I knew you'd come here if something bad happened, so I made a new level and stocked up on everything you'd need."

"Woah..." Poppy didn't know what to say. She had so many questions and a lot of other things to say but the pink troll didn't know where to begin.

"Are you sure this is everyone? No one's missing or unaccounted for?" Branch asked to double check. For some reason, the grey troll felt like some people were missing.

Poppy found her voice after being reminded of another problem she had. "Yes! Some of us are missing! The bergen took my bestest friends and we have to save them! Biggie, Smidge, Cooper, Guy Diamond, DJ Suki, Fuzzbert, Satin, Chenille, and Creek!" Poppy pointed out, hoping he'd have a rescue plan in his bunker somewhere.

"Poppy, if the bergen ate them, then they're dead. Which means there's nothing you can do about it." Branch stated as he walked over to his desk, honestly felt bad for the pink troll. She lost all of her closest friends on her birthday and the village grump knew how much she cared about them.

"But it just put them in a fanny pack and left! None of them were eaten." Poppy clarified to get him to understand how serious the situation was.

"It didn't eat any trolls? Any at all?" Branch asked, not knowing whether this was a good sign or bad sign.

"No, so they're alive and waiting to be rescued. That's why we have to go after them before the bergen decides to eat one of them. Or all of them at once!"

"Give me a minute to think. There might be a reason she caught them alive, but I need time to figure it out." Branch explained as Poppy nods in understanding. 

Branch crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and thought about the situation as thoroughly as possible. 'Why would a bergen not eat a troll the second they got their hands on one? Especially when they found out where we live! We're the bergen's only way to be happy, so wouldn't it want to eat as many as possible? Just mindlessly stuff their ugly face with as many trolls it can digest?'

That's what confused Branch the most. The best he could do was think like a bergen and guess the current situation in Bergen Town.

'Okay, just think like them. What would a bergen need a bunch of trolls for other than lunch?' He thought to himself, not noticing the antsy princess in front of her. 'Maybe it... What if they... It's possible that it...'

"Oh crap." Branch cussed as his eyes snapped open.

"What? What is it?" Poppy wanted to lecture him for using a bad word, but she didn't care at the moment.

"I don't think it's going to eat them. If that bergen didn't do so right away, then..."

"Then what?!" Poppy was getting anxious and it was showing from the way she pulled at her dress.

"Then it might be taking them to Bergen Town." Branch stated with concern in his blue eyes. "If I were to guess, I'd say that trolls are super valuable over there. It might sell your friends to the highest bidder or offer them to their leader."

‘That’s not good…’ Poppy thought as she was on the verge of a panic attack.

"Nonononono! We have to do something! We can't let them die!" The princess was pacing in circles, trying to think of some way to help her friends.

Branch grabbed Poppy by the shoulders and held her in place. "Listen to me. It's too late for them and there's nothing we can do now."

"It's never too late!" Poppy shouted in his face with determination in her bright eyes. "There's gotta be something we can do."

"Seriously? You’re still buoyant even after seeing a bergen in Pop Village?" He couldn't believe it. What will it take to get Poppy's to understand that not everything is possible with just a positive attitude!? A troll needs more than that to survive!

"Yes I am and I need your help getting my besties back."

"Sorry, but no." Branch decided that this conversation was over and took a seat at his desk to write something down in his notebook. Too bad Poppy wasn’t a good listener.

"Why not!?" Poppy asked as she stood behind the grey troll.

"Because it's suicide." Branch said calmly in an attempt to be rational with the royal troll. "You can't fight off a bergen by yourself no matter how hard you try and even if everyone here charges up to it, it'll be a losing battle."

"That's not true!" Poppy defended her trolls. "Don't underestimate them, they're a lot tougher and braver than you think."

Branch stood back up and crossed his arms, looking not at all convinced. "Oh really? So they’re all going to march into bergen territory and save your buddies?"

"Yes!" Poppy believes in her people and she knew that they would travel anywhere to save a fellow troll. That's how her father raised the village to think and she was sure everyone felt the same way she did about leaving her friends behind. The princess won't allow any lives to be lost and neither will they!

But she didn't expect Branch to make a bold move to prove his point on the matter.

"Hey everybody!" Branch’s call echoed through the bunker and caught the attention of every single troll in his bunker. "Can I get a few volunteers to go to Bergen Town on an impossible rescue mission?"

Poppy looked at her people and expected to hear a chord of 'I’ll go’ to engulf the room, waited for them to step forward and ask for instructions or at least to see some raised hands. But instead, there was dead silence as the trolls avoided eye contact with their princess and shuffled where they stood awkwardly. 

With that, Branch turned to Poppy with a surprisingly sad look in his eyes. "See? They know they can't do anything even if they tried."

'Oh my gosh…’ Poppy thought in a horrible sense of realization. ‘They really _can’t_ handle this. They’re so used to peace and fun that they don’t-No! _We_ don’t know what to do when things get dangerous. Dad was right about us.’

Branch was right too. The trolls of Pop Village don't know anything about fighting and they're still panic-stricken from seeing that one bergen. Poppy was pretty sure they wouldn’t be able to face it even to save someone else's life.

But the princess didn’t blame them for being scared to the core. They deserved to live their whole lives without any worries, but she ruined it with her arrogance. This was her fault, her problem, and she shouldn’t drag anyone else into this. Poppy had to take responsibility for her own actions like a good leader should.

"Fine." Poppy quietly admitted. "Then I'll go by myself." She declared as she went up to the levers so she could leave.

This time, it was Branch following Poppy. ****

"That's a really bad idea." The survivalist said as he caught up with the pink troll.

"No it's not. I'm gonna bring my friends back and we're all finding a new home together." Poppy said and she pulled on the thinner level to lower the platform back down. After watching Branch using these when she came over, she had a good idea of how they worked.

"Be reasonable! You can't take on the bergen single handedly. You'll _die_!" Branch stated since it was the most obvious thing in the world. But then again, he was talking to the second most stubborn troll in the forest. (First place will always belong to Branch and he was proud of it.)

"I can't just do nothing while my best friends are in danger." The princess spoke with a spark in her eyes as she watched the wooden platform touch the dirt floor. "What kind of princess am I if I abandon the people I'm supposed to protect."

Did Branch hear that right or did she phrase her sentence incorrectly?

"Princess? Are you not queen yet?" He knew this was off topic and he had more important matters to speak of, but he wasn't expecting Poppy to still have her princess statues.

"Yeah, the bergen came right when dad was gonna put the crown on my head. Since the ritual wasn't finished, my dad's still the king and I'm still a princess." Poppy sighed as she stepped onto the platform. "This is all my fault and I'm not coming back until I’ve fixed everything."

When Poppy said that, Branch realized that he wasn't going to win this argument no matter what he said. He knew from experience that when someone needs her, she'll do everything she possibly can to help them. There was no point in stating facts or using logic because she was leaving one way or another and there was nothing the village grump could do about it.

The princess stepped onto the wooden elevator and pulled on the lone lever that hasn’t been touched all night. As the platform rose, Branch and Poppy didn’t break eye contact as the distance between the two of them grew with every passing second

Poppy gave the grey troll a smile full of gratitude and admiration for everything he’s done for her trolls while Branch sent the pink troll a look of wonder and distress from witnessing another selfless action that could lead to her demise.

Then she was gone and on her way to save her friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Four things need explaining. One is that I find it a bit too convenient that Branch has enough room and supplies in his bunker for everyone in the entire village! So I decided to use this as an opportunity to give Branch's character more depth. He started building the bottom level when Poppy discovered where his bunker was and has been working on it ever since. The design is based off of that underground city in Turkey and it has a butt load of stuff inside.
> 
> Two, the entrance to the bunker is not under the doormat. I think it's weird that Branch has a slot on the map because (I'm just gonna say it) he might accidentally look up a girl's dress. That door Poppy knocks on in the movie is where Branch's fake house is and where the entrance to the real bunker is hidden. The door mat with 'GO AWAY' on it is just an ordinary mat.
> 
> Three, there’s an interesting story behind Branch’s fake house, but that’ll be explained more in the sequel. I can explain more about it later if anyone has any questions.
> 
> And four is that the bottom level of the bunker has four sides with different purposes. Side #1 is basically a giant bookcase/cabinet full of things within reaching distance that a troll may need. Side #2 is where the kitchen, chairs and tables are set for everyone to eat together. Side #3 is where the bathrooms, supply closets and the secret door that’ll be revealed in the sequel. Side #4 is where Branch gathers and studies information and does his planning.
> 
> Name: DJ Suki a.k.a. the best DJ in the village  
> Age: 24 (mentally a teenager)  
> Birthstone: Ruby (nobility and beauty)  
> Misc. Type: Pop/Treasure  
> Loves: her niece, her wooferbug, headphones, mashing up songs and cupcakes.  
> Hates: disappointing others, awkward situations and songs that aren't upbeat.  
> Fun Fact: Out of all the Snack Pack members, DJ Suki has the biggest family with three aunts and a young niece.  
> Motto: "You want a good song? Mine are the best!"


	5. A Rocky Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poppy's journey to Bergen Town isn't going well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember in the second chapter where it says that there are a few trolls that have good things to say about Branch? Well, we’re gonna meet some of them in this chapter! I refuse to believe that out of the entire village, Poppy and Peppy were the only trolls that didn’t dislike Branch.
> 
> These trolls aren’t as motivated as Poppy about Branch regaining his colors, but they do enjoy the village grump’s company or have something to thank him for. Plus, they know the princess will get through to him one way or another. The rest of these guys and their backstories will be revealed in the sequel but please accept this while you wait.
> 
> “This is normal dialogue”  
> ‘These are thoughts’  
> “Italics is for singing”  
> Underlines are for flashbacks  
> Bold is a time or setting change  
> “Italics and underlines is a Fuzzling speaking”  
> “italics and bold is auto tune“  
> (“Parenthesis and underlined is a mini flashback”)

Poppy hasn’t been gone for very long but it was obvious that her presence was missed from the way the trolls were silently sulking around.

The villagers regret letting the pink troll leave, but they all knew that Poppy was a proactive girl with more than enough motive to get her through a stormy night with her chin up smile on her face. If any one of them tried to talk their beloved princess out of rescuing her friends, she wouldn’t listen to a word they had to say.

And what would they say to her anyways? ‘Hey Poppy, let’s not save your best friends from certain doom since we might be caught and added to the bergen’s menu too. Why don’t we all stay down here until it’s safe to come out so we can look for an even better home to hide in and forget tonight even happened!’ Everyone was thinking it, but no one had the guts to say it.

Well, the village grump said it to the princess’ face without a hint of hesitation about them being too scared to help their fellow trolls and he was completely right.

Or maybe they were just a bunch of selfish cowards who would abandon others to save themselves…

Everyone in Pop Village knew the Snack Pack well and they each loved them for being some of the kindest, most generous trolls ever. And now they were all gone and nobody wanted to do anything to help those adored trolls.

The flustered trolls spent the rest of the night walking around, exploring the secret bunker, talking to their loved ones and wondering about the future. But most of all, they were rethinking their outlook on a certain grey troll that they thought they knew.

Branch was worried that people would start snooping around or making a mess of his bunker, but it looks like luck was on his side for once. Everyone was dead tired from partying all night and the bergen's sudden arrival was still fresh in their minds. The last couple of hours were beginning to affect them as children slumbering in their parent’s arms, trolls were falling asleep while leaning against the walls and a majority of them found a suitable place to sit down.

The village grump decided to help them get comfortable by grabbing a couple of warm blankets and comfy pillows from the wall of supplies for the exhausted trolls to borrow. He looked through the mass of people for someone to help him with this since, it would take forever if he did this himself. So the grey troll searched for anybody that could help him without asking stupid questions or being scared off.

Then Branch spotted the perfect man for the job.

Not too far away was a tangerine troll with golden hair that was poorly cut to be shorter than normal, a lavender nose, ocean blue eyes, sparkly freckles, brown eyebrows, a fit body and a tiny stubble beard on his chin. He wore a simple pair of baby blue shorts with a mint suspender attached to his right hip going across his left shoulder to keep the shorts from falling down.

Rudy the Sporty troll was someone that Branch has interacted with multiple times in the past when they ran into each other. No, he wasn’t friends with the survivalist but they did have a good amount of respect for each other because of their impressive ability to free run.

Branch called him over and the Sporty troll made his way through the crowd towards the grey troll.

“What’s up Branch.” Rudy greeted the grey troll as if they were old friends. (Which they weren’t.)

“Could you help me pass these around?” Branch asked quickly to get to the point. He didn’t want anyone getting the wrong idea if they talked too much and too casually.

The kind troll smiled and grabbed an armful of pillows off the shelves. “No problem.”

The two trolls gave a set of covers to anybody who looked like they needed it and soon enough, a large number of people volunteered by asking Rudy if they could help get the job done faster.

“We’ve got this. You go get ready.” Rudy told Branch as he and the other trolls continued to grab cushions from the wall. The village grump didn’t need the blonde troll to clarify what he meant because they both knew what Branch would be doing soon.

While everyone found a place on the floor to catch some Z’s, the grey troll went back to his desk to make a plan to help Poppy.

**In the village with Poppy**

Poppy ran to her pod as fast as she could. She needed to get a few things from home and she had to change out of her ruined dress before leaving.

She used her hair to climb onto the mushroom her home hovered over, bolted through the entrance of the royal pod and dashed into her bedroom.

The princess quickly undressed herself and put on her camping outfit since it seemed like the most logical choice of clothing for traveling. She wore a maya blue long sleeved t-shirt with purple floral patterns, a matching circle skirt with similar patterns that matched her shirt, a pair of white shorts underneath, a turquoise vest to keep her chest warm and the green headband with blue flowers she had on in the morning.

She even tied her hair in a high ponytail for extra measures. Ponytails can help a troll control their hair better and can even make it tougher. Not having a ponytail when needed would be like using a ribbon to secure something in place when rope is necessary. Having her hair in a scrunchy will come in handy where Poppy is going.

Poppy got her pink backpack from her closet and filled it with things she might need on her journey. She got a bottle and filled it with clean water, found bits of scrapbooking material to destress with, grabbed some portable instruments to play, a few cupcakes to snack on, a large strawberry to stay healthy, the softest sleeping bag she had and the giant pictures frame filled with photos of her missing friends for inspiration.

She would've packed more, but the pink troll remembers Branch telling her once that it's a good idea to travel as light as possible. ( "If you put too much stuff in your bags, it'll only cause problems by slowing you down with its weight. Only pack what you need and nothing more.” )  


She's really glad that she paid attention to him when he gave her survival tips.

Now that the pink troll was dressed, packed, and ready to go, she stepped out of her pod and stood in the last place she saw the bergen before it left. Fortunately, there was still some footprint left behind for her to follow. Giant footprints that reminded the princess that this bergen was extremely tall and threatening.

Before leaving, she took one more look at her empty village. Poppy’s home was unnaturally quiet and lifeless now that her people were evacuated. It's really weird to think that just a couple of hours ago she was about to be crowned queen and her awesome party would've kept going until early morning.

What was supposed to be a night full of unforgettable fun, was turned into a forgotten nightmare that was unearthed thanks to her.

But she wasn't going to worry about that because she was going to fix everything. The princess of Pop Village was going to save her friends from the bergen, find a new village that won’t be found twice, protect her people properly this time and prove to everyone that they can trust her as their queen.

Princess Poppy took a deep breath through her nose until her lungs were fully loaded with fresh air before releasing it all through her mouth. Feeling more relaxed, she marched forwards with an endless amount of hope and resolution in her pink eyes.

**Back with Branch  
**

Branch laid his head on the table and racked his brain for solutions to their current problems with the bergen and the missing trolls. But the only thing the grey troll could think about were the risks he would be taking by going after Poppy and helping her save the rest of the Snack Pack. ****

As much as he wanted to catch up to the princess and bring her right back, Branch knew that she wouldn’t set foot in the bunker without her friends with them. Sure, he could drag her inside against her will with ease but that would only make things a whole lot worse. ****

If Poppy didn’t do everything she can to help her friends and succeed or if she fails to save even a single troll that was taken, she would never forgive herself and most likely change for the worse once this was all over. ****

Just like he did when he was a kid... ****

"Branch?" Branch came back to reality and turned to see King Peppy behind him with a drowsy look on his old face. ****

"Yes your majesty?" Branch asked with a polite tone he doesn't use very often. ****

"This is a very impressive place you've built. Did you really do all of this by yourself?" The king asked to lighten the mood. And he was honestly shocked to see what the grey troll has accomplished in just a few years. Peppy knew that Branch was a smart and capable boy, but this entire shelter went beyond his wildest expectations. ****

"Thank you sir. I've been working on it for a long time." Branch spoke humbly as he stood up and offered his chair to the elderly troll. "Please, sit down." ****

Peppy obliged and sat down to give his tired knees a break. "Don’t mind if I do."

The two trolls took a minute to watch the giant pile of villagers sleeping on the ground and make sure they were all resting well. Everyone was snuggled up against each other, wrapped in their blankets with a pillow supporting their heads and barely moving even in their sleep since they were burnt out of energy.

"Are you going after her?" The burdened old man suddenly asked.

"Of course I am. If I don't, she'll get herself killed." Branch said without hesitation.

"Thank you. I’m glad Poppy has a dependable friend like you watching over her.” The grateful king gave the young man a warm smile.

“I’m sorry but we’re not really friends.” Branch corrected Peppy as he looked at the map on the table for any shortcuts and other safe routes to Bergen Town.

King Peppy now had a daring expression on his face. “Do you care about her safety?” 

“I care about everyone’s safety.” The grey troll shot back without looking up.

“Does her sadness upset you?”

“Yes but others would be upset too.”

“Do you both spend time together?”

“Only because she won’t stop insisting.”

“Would you risk your life for her?”

Branch hesitated this time. “...I guess I would.”

He knew there was no point in denying it since he was about to go on a dangerous mission to help Poppy succeed in her impossible goal. But he’s still going to do his best to prove the old king’s statements about him and the princess wrong.

This time, Branch looked Peppy in his orange eyes. “But I’m not exactly nice to her either. I’m sure you’ve heard of the things I’ve done to her, right?”

“Yes, me and Poppy talk about it often.” The king confirmed and noticed the way Branch looked away from the shame of his past behavior. “But I understand that you do it for her sake.”

“What? No, I-”

“You're afraid Poppy will get hurt.” King Peppy stated matter-of-fact. “You want to protect her innocence like me but you’ve prepared her for the worse in ways I was craven to even consider. And I know you’re willing to stay unhappy for the sake of others like the noble troll that you are.”

Branch didn’t answer as he stared at the king with a look of disbelief from the accuracy of the description. In fact, it was so accurate that he didn’t want this conversation to continue any further. So the grey troll pulled out a map of the bunker from his drawer, a remote from his hair and placed them on his table for the king to see.

"Everyone should be safe as long as they stay here. There's enough food to last a few weeks if you distribute it properly and you don't have to worry about water. I have plumbing that's connected to the river so there can be as much clean water as you need." Branch explained to the astonished king to change the subject.

King Peppy listened carefully as the grey troll described every chamber in his bunker and explained the many functions of the remote with an air of focus, maturity and dedication that the king has never seen before.

As amazing as it is to see someone so young be so level headed, it was also upsetting to know that this growth came with a price that wasn’t worth paying. It’s too bad that Branch didn’t have much of a choice on the matter.

Back at the Troll Tree, no matter how much a troll lost they didn't lose everything. Peppy made sure that every trolling had someone looking after them so no child was orphaned. Children had at least one person looking after them whether it was a parent, a grandparent, an uncle, an aunt, an older sibling, an older cousin, a close friend of the family or even stranger that could be their guardian.

King Peppy failed a lot of trolls back then, but he failed Branch more than anyone else. The orange troll will never forgive himself for letting such a sweet child turn grey on his watch nor for allowing the poor boy to lose so much at such a ripe age. He lost his mother before he hatched from the egg, his father when he was merely a baby and he blames himself to this day for-

"Here." Branch spoke, freeing the old king from his thoughts. Peppy looked down at the map and watched the grey troll tapped a small section of the bunker in one of the middle levels with a pencil.

"What is that?" From what he could see, there was little to no details on that section.

The map had clear drawings that showed where each room was and what they were used for, but not where Branch was pointing at. Each room had names and/or numbers with short instructions besides them, but the place the survivalist was pointing at was just a square with the letters ‘B.R.’ on it and nothing else.

"That's my bedroom. Would you mind making sure no one goes in there?" Everything in the bunker was for survival purposes only, but his room was where he kept personal items he didn't want anyone knowing about.

"Don't worry, I won't even tell anyone it exists." King Peppy reassured.

Branch was satisfied with the king's answer, but he was still going to put a few locks on the door and place a sizable rock in the way to make sure no one could get in. That last thing he wants is a random troll rummaging through his stuff, finding his trunk of invitations or reading his journals full of sensitive thoughts. If that were to happen and everyone learned his deepest secrets, the grey troll would jump off of a cliff to escape the brutal humiliation.

After making sure the king understood the ins and outs of the bunker and how to use his precious remote control properly, Branch decided that it was time to get going.

The village grump got his dark brown backpack and tiptoed around, collecting the supplies he’ll need to help Poppy. Knowing the pink troll, she didn’t take a few important things with her so he should take two of everything to share with her.

He grabbed a first aid kit, a few jars of preserved foods, a container of water, a pot, a pan, some matches, binoculars, a compass, a map of the forest, a bag of candy for his troll diet ( _not_ because he liked sweets), some books with useful information and his sleeping bag. He’ll be sure to change his clothing before locking his bedroom door and grab some weapons from the fourth floor before he leaves.

“Good evening Branch.” Greeted a female voice that Branch recognized.

“Hi Karma.” He greeted the Nature troll.

The survivalist turned around to face Karma, the smartest botanist in the village. She was a carrot orange troll with olive green hair, a light blue nose with matching eyes, rosy cheeks, brown eyebrows and long eyelashes. She wore a yellow skirt made of long petals sewed together, a matching tank top and she was missing the leaves and twigs that usually decorated her hair. She must’ve removed her favorite accessories for the party.

She and Branch have had conversations about plants before and they both liked each other’s advanced way of thinking. _No_ , they were _not_ friends. Branch just traded information with her about plants and Karma liked talking to someone who understood science since it was a hard subject for most trolls.

“Nice place you’ve got here.” The Nature troll complimented. “I can’t believe you made this with your own two hands! The workmanship is truly remarkable and the engineering isn’t half bad. Must’ve been easy with all those muscles and that big brain, am I right?”

“Thanks. Now what do you want?” He knew this girl long enough to know that if she randomly started kissing up to someone, then she wanted something from them.

“Not much, I just noticed that you’ve got a really nice garden in here.” Karma commented as she twiddled her fingers. ”Mind if I take a look or...?”

“Actually, I was going to ask if you could look after my herbs while I was gone.” Branch said as he zipped up his bag.

The excited look on her face was an obvious ‘yes’. “Really!? I can use your garden?!”

“Use? No, you’re going to keep my plants alive and healthy until I get back.” Branch clarified. “Please don’t use them for any experiments and don’t mess with the equipment. It took forever to install the irrigation system.”

“Roger that!”

“Thanks. I’ll owe you one when I get back.”

“You don’t owe me anything.” Karma respectfully declined. “After today, me and everyone here is gonna owe you big time.”

Branch didn’t reply, but he did acknowledge her offer with a nod before walking away. How was he supposed to respond to an offer like that anyways?

The village grump went to his elevator to finish his preparations and go after the pink princess.

**Hours later with Poppy**

Poppy’s been wandering without coming to a stop for what she guessed was hours from the sight of the stars disappearing one by one and the sky slowly turning blue. ****

At the moment, she was in a field of yellow flowers that she couldn’t identify from below. The pink troll decided to climb one of these blooms to get a better look around since all she could see was leaves, roots and pedicels. ****

Once the princess was standing on the flower’s disk, she saw a vast field of Maximilian sunflowers in front of her and a wall of trees encircling the miniature grassland. ****

She was outside the sanctuary of woods and a long distance from home... ****

'Keep your cool Poppy.' The pink troll thought to motivate herself. 'There's no need to panic so soon. You’re gonna catch up to that bergen, you’re gonna save your besties and we’re all going home together.' ****

But the more she thought about the many hazards that have never crossed her mind before, the more uncertain she was of her chances of succeeding. ****

So Poppy did what any troll would do in her situation. She sang a song full of bangin' lyrics and an upbeat melody! ****

 _"I really hope I can do it,"_ ****

_"’Cause they're all depending on me."_ ****

_"I know that I must leave the only home I've ever known and brave the dangers of the forest, saving them before they're eaten."_ ****

What kind of song has such a depressing start to it? She had to think positive and tough out whatever’s coming at her if she was going to Bergen Town! ****

Poppy stood on the very edge on a yellow pedal and spoke the next line with all of the confidence she could muster and a big smile to pump her spirits. ****

 _"I mean, how hard can it be?"_ ****

As if on cue, the petal she stood on gave out and the princess fell down. Fortunately, the leaves underneath her were able to break her fall, but she still hit the ground hard. With her face. But the pink troll stood up and continued on with her journey as if she didn’t just fall a good four feet off the ground. It’s a good thing Poppy could bounce back from anything like a rubber ball. ****

Okay, so the song isn’t the only thing that’s starting off rocky but that’s okay! She still had a long way to go and the princess was sure this would get easier. So to help get her blood flowing, Poppy jogged at a steady pace as she admired the new things around her. ****

 _"Looking up at a sunny sky, so shiny and blue!"_ ****

_"And there's a butterfly! Well isn't that a super fantastic sign!"_ ****

Poppy began to gasp for air and feel her legs growing tired, so she took a quick break. Looking around, she founded a lovely pond within the sunflowers to sit to catch her breath by. The princess has been moving for a long time and she was wearing herself out, so she’ll sit down for a few minutes to recharge.

_"It's gonna be a fantastic day..."_

While the princess dipped her fatigued feet in the water to soothe the aching, she spotted a cute little frog sitting on a water lily. It looked slimy from the way the light reflected off of its body, had yellow skin with green spots on it’s back and a pair of big red eyes. How cute!

There’s nothing as blissful as the sight of a harmless creature minding its own business.

And on the other side of the pond was a crane landing from a long day of flying and sticking it’s skinny legs in the water. It had long legs to keep it above the water, pure white feathers, a pointy beak on its small head, grey tail feathers and a red mask over its eyes.

The princess really regrets not bringing her camera for moments like these. It was the biggest bird she’s ever seen!

‘What a beautiful bird.’ Poppy thought with wonder in her eyes, glad that she picked this place to rest. Not many trolls could say they’ve seen anything this majestic in their lives.

But the pleasantness of it all didn’t last long when the crane walked up to the clueless frog and picked up the amphibian with it’s long beak.

‘Wait a sec… What is it- Holy-! Oh my gosh, that’s horrible!’ Poppy thought in horror with a look of disgust. ‘That poor froggy…’

The circle of life was truly as ruthless as the books described it to be.

Having had enough rest for the time being (not because she wanted to avoid joining the frog in the crane’s stomach), she went back to her long walk to Bergen Town. And to get the image of the amphibian being-Nope! Don’t think about it!

To help forget something that didn’t happen, the princess continued her song where she left off.

_“Such marvelousness it’s gonna bring,”_

_“Gotta pocket full of songs that I’m gonna sing,”_

_“And I’m ready to take on anything.”_

_“Hooray!”_

Poppy finally crossed the field of flowers and walked back into the security of the forest. She was glad to be in more familiar lands that were safer than being out in the open. The princess thought it through and settled with traveling by tree skipping, so she climbed up the trunk closest to her and hopped from one branch to another.

Tree skipping was a quick way for a troll to get to different places, but it can be dangerous if they don't know what they’re doing. Someone could slip and fall or hurt their hand and feet or lose track of where they are and get lost.

But after being taught by her father how to leap and land properly, the princess was a pro at tree skipping. She may not be on the same level as the more skilled trolls, but she had enough practice to move through the trees without a care in the world.

As skipping across six trees and clearing the distance between herself and the many branches ahead of her, Poppy noticed some vines dangling around her. Getting a fun idea, the joyful troll made a detour towards the creeping plant and found one that was perfect for swinging!

Yes, Poppy knew that time was of the essence but she needed to play for a bit after the day she’s had. She seriously needed some enjoyment to keep her optimism up even if it’s something as little as swinging on a random vine.

So the princess sat herself on the arc of the linked plant and kicked her legs forward until she was swaying at a relaxing tempo.

A makeshift swing set and a lovely view from so high up was a great way to enjoy the tranquility.

...

The pink troll rubbed her fingers against the vine and realized that it was a bit too…smooth. And was it moving on it’s own or was the princess imagining things?

Getting a closer look at the ‘vine’, Poppy realized that it actually _was_ moving from the strange motions the orange diamond patterns were making and, not that she thought about it, she could feel it rubbing against the bottom of her thighs.

It was almost like this plant was… _slithering_ …

Poppy’s tiny body tense as she looked up and followed the rest of the ‘vine’ until she made eye contact with a fanged reptile that was unhinging its jaw to swallow her whole.

‘I was swinging on a snake?! How did I not notice the scales before?!’ Thought the scared troll.

Poppy did the best thing she could do at the moment.

She ascended the snake’s body to get on the bough it laid on and ran like heck in the opposite direction as the reptile crawled after the troll.

Now would be a bad time to sing, but apparently the pink troll didn’t have any good times to sing so she was going to sing anyways!

_“Some super fun surprise around each corner,”_

_“Just riding on a rainbow, I’m gonna be okay!”_

The princess ran in circles, did a zig zag maneuver, made sharp turns around corners, jumped over rocks, ducked under twigs and threw dirt in the snake’s face to keep it away.

Poppy looked over her shoulder when she heard hissing coming from a long distance away and ceased her running when she realized what had happened. The snake was tangled in on itself from chasing the pink troll in random directions!

“Ha! Take _that_ , you oversized worm!” Princess Poppy taunted as she scurried off with a smug smirk from the victory. Outrunning and outsmarting that reptile gave her the self-confidence boost she needed to keep running forward with a big smile as a bonus.

_“Hey!”_

_“I’m not giving up today!”_

_“There's nothing getting in my way!”_

_“And if you knock knock me over,”_

_“I will get back up again!”_

Poppy paused her singing when she felt her back getting moist for some reason.

Taking off her backpack, she notices a giant stain going from the back to the bottom that wasn't there before. The pink troll took off her backpack and set it down to find out what the source of this stain was.

After unzipping her bag and looking inside, Poppy saw that the strawberry she packed was damaged and spilling juice all over her stuff! You know what's worse than berry blood everywhere? Having cupcake frosting and crumbs on everything!

"Just great!" Poppy shouted in frustration. "Should've put them in my lunchbox..."

Her instruments, a kazoo, harmonica and mandolin, were covered in vanilla icing and a lot of her paper for scrapbooking were soaked in juice! But it's okay because the instruments could be cleaned, her water and sleeping bag were fine and there were still a few undamaged pieces of paper for her to use.

Thanks to those small mercies, the pink troll wasn't going to complain anymore.

Poppy took out whatever was salvageable and stuffed everything she could in her hair. She ate the remains of the strawberry and the bits of cupcake from her ruined backpack before leaving the bag on the ground since she can’t use it anymore. The princess had to carry the mandolin on her back and hold the sleeping bag in her arms, but she could still go on with her plans.

After a minute of pouting, the pink troll realized that she wasn’t in the brightest of moods. She better start singing before her face froze in a permanent scowl.

_“Oh!”_

_“If something goes a little wrong,”_

_“Well you can go ahead and bring it on!”_

_“'Cause if you knock knock me over, I will get back up again!”_

_“Whoa oh oh oh oh oh oh, get back up again!”_

_“Whoa oh oh oh oh oh oh...ahhhh!”_

The princess stopped singing for a second when she stumbled upon another field with disappearing and reappearing orbs the size of basketballs on the grassy plains.

Poppy remembered reading about this area. This was the Meadow of Madness, a mysterious and magical place with freaky weather, weird creatures and abnormal physics that come from the spheres. Trolls have lost their minds while going through these strange shapes and there were a few ways around it, but the princess couldn’t afford to waste anymore time!

So without a hint of hesitation, the pink troll strolled into the meadow and prayed that she doesn’t end up somewhere too crazy.

But then an orb popped up right in front of her and swallowed the princess, leaving her in a black place with neon colored rain. Poppy was about to scream when the orb that trapped her vanished and left her exactly where she stood before being transported to who-knows-where.

This pattern continued as the pink troll was caught by the magic balls that transported to a cold windy area, then a weird glowing cave, then a place with low gravity, then surrounded by creepy transparent animals and finally there was a hot dry land.

_“I’m marching along, I've got confidence.”_

_“I'm cooler than a pack of peppermints.”_

_“And I haven't been this excited since,”_

_“I can't remember when!”_

The princess was sweating bullets after being in that boiling place and decided to unzip her vest a

nd tossed it aside to cool off.

Now that she was out of that meadow, Poppy needed to get a visual on the area she was in before she kept going. And there was a very tall hill so she hiked up to the top to enjoy the cold breeze and get a look around. 

Scoping her surroundings, the pink princess could see nothing more than trees all over the place. There weren’t many things that stood out in a forest.

But then she clocked in on a peculiar yet intriguing sculpture about a mile or two away. It was a rock that was carved into the shape of an owl! She had to remember this place so she could show her friends the nicely carved rock while they walked back home together.

And speaking of owls, there was a barn owl watching her from up in its nest. This bird was one of Poppy’s favorite animals because of the heart shape on their faces. The pink troll would always admire their cuteness in pictures and illustrations in books, but she’s never seen one in person before now.

“Hi there!” Poppy greeted the bird. “Have you seen a bergen come by here?”

She knew the owl wouldn’t answer, but it was nice to have a conversation with someone after being alone for so long. The pink troll was also not expecting the bird to stand up and flap its wings as it eyed her like a scrumptious snack.

Maybe she should’ve read about an owl’s diets while she was looking at the pictures because it dove straight for her with its talons out!

Poppy shouted in shock as she leaned too far backwards and rolled down the hill. This saved her from being turned into a troll pellet, but she was still out in the open and needed somewhere to hide.

As she ran into the safety of the forest, the princess searched for a good place to take cover until the avian gave up and went back to its nest. And soon enough, there was a rose bush she could use for protection thanks to the thorns!

The pink troll ran through the leaves and climbed up the roots until she was enclosed by a wall of roses and spikes. She could see the owl’s shadow pass by the shrub and hear the flapping of wings fading away, but after a minute of waiting Poppy felt that it was safe to come out now.

The princess climbed upwards until her head poked out of the leaves and looked around for any signs of the bird. Seeing that there were no predators around, Poppy saw some plants ahead that she could use as stepping stones to hope from flower to shrub.

She jumped onto bushes, on flower disks and even some overgrown roots to help speed things along. But nothing helps pass the time better than a song!

_“I'm off on this remarkable adventure,”_

_“Just riding on a rainbow!”_

But her song was rudely interrupted when she stepped onto a plant that snapped shut and trapped the princess in its grasp.

‘Is this a jupiter fly trap? Are you kidding me?!’ Thought the outraged princess as the deadly plant began to squeeze her. ‘Why does this keep happening?! It’s like fate was doing it’s best to make this a lot harder than it has to be!’

_“What if it's all a big mistake?”_

_“What if it's more than I can take?”_

_No_! She wasn’t going to admit defeat and let everybody down. Her father, her friends and her people were counting on her. She refused to give up and die here!

Now that Poppy was thinking positively again, she remembered learning from one of the gardeners that jupiter fly traps could only catch small insects and weren’t strong enough to hold onto a troll. The pink troll still had a chance to escape!

Princess Poppy places her arms and legs on opposite corners of the plant’s mouth to pry it open. Once she had enough space, she broke free from the carnivorous plants’ hold without a scratch on her. Now we’re talkin’!

_“No! I can't think that way 'cause I know,”_

_“That I’m really, really, really gonna be okay!”_

_“Hey!”_

_“I’m not giving up today!”_

_“There's nothing getting in my way!”_

_“And if you knock knock me over,”_

_“I! Will! Get back up again!”_

Poppy paused her song again when her stomach rumbled to remind her that she hasn’t eaten in a while. And look at that! A bush full of ripe blueberries, ready to be picked and wolfed down by any hungry creature. Maybe her luck was finally turning around.

The pink troll grabbed the largest berry she could reach, took a big bite out of the fruit and immediately regretted it. The berry extract filled her mouth and slammed her taste buds with a strong blend of sour and tart that made the princess gag!

But before she could spit it out, the pink troll swallowed the awful substance instead. “Blaaah! Gross!” Poppy spat as she licked her lips.

“I’m not _that_ hungry...” The princess said as she put the chomped blueberry down.

But as she hunched over to put the berry on the ground, Poppy noticed a blue spot on the back of her hand that shouldn’t be there. The pink troll didn’t have time to worry about a random spot though. Besides, it’s just a little dot so there was no need to panic.

Right now, she still had to get to her besties back home before it was too late.

_“Oh!”_

_“If something goes a little wrong,”_

_“Well you can go ahead and bring it on,”_

_“'Cause if you knock knock me over, I will get back up again!”_

After an hour or so of walking, the princess noticed something odd happening… Why wasn’t she moving forward?

Poppy looked around for an answer and was horrified to see that she was three times her normal size and as round as a beach ball!

How did this happen?! When did this happen?! Why is this happening?! How did she not realize she was gaining weight in record time?!

‘Forget it! I can work with this.’ Poppy stubbornly thought as she wiggled her chunky limbs. ‘I’m round and round things rolled. All I have to do is spin myself towards Bergen Town and I’ll be there in no time!’

With a few hard pushes, the sphere-shaped princess began to spin in the direction she wanted to go in. But now she couldn’t turn and she could stop herself!

_“(Get up, get up, get up!)”_

_“Whoa oh oh oh oh oh oh!”_

_“Get back up again!”_

_“(Get up, get up, get up!)”_

_“Whoa oh oh oh oh oh oh!”_

Maybe it was all of the spinning around and bumping into stuff, but Poppy’s brain was pounding against her skull like a woodpecker on bark.

And was that a ledge she was rolling towards? Yes, that was definitely a ledge.

Poppy shrieked as she rolled off of the end of the ridge and felt gravity yank her down to her inevitable death! But on the bright side, the screaming was somehow deflating the princess back to her thin self as she plummeted to the ground.

_“I’m okay!”_

_“(Get up, get up, get up!)”_

_“Whoa oh oh oh oh oh oh oh!”_

Instead of free falling all the way down to the hard earth, the pink troll felt her back make contact with a stretchy strand of some sort. As the string sank downwards from the sudden weight, Poppy got a look at what had saved her and gasped when she realized that she was in a spider’s web!

She choked on her breath a second time when the webbing snapped off of its twigs and dropped her onto the floor that was thankfully only an inch away. The pink troll groaned as she sat up and noted the white threads all over her person. Remembering that there could be spiders nearby, she concluded that the best thing to do was to get the heck out of there ASAP.

Poppy tried to free herself from the webs by squirming her way out but the more she moved, the more solid the cobwebs became. After struggling to kick and stretch the net off of her for a full minute, the webs became so stiff that it felt less like strings wrapped around her body and more like she was locked in a perfectly troll shaped cage.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, the princess could feel herself about to blackout at any given moment. Her best guess as to why her day’s been so sucky was that she did something dreadful in her previous life to deserve all of this misfortune.

But this princess took pride in her songs and she wouldn’t allow herself to faint until she was finished every single lyric!

_“And if you knock knock me over, knock knock me over,”_

_“I...will...get back up again...”_

With her final verse sung, Poppy allowed herself to fall unconscious under the orange sky for what might be the last time.

**Meanwhile with Branch**

‘Where is she?’ Thought the worried grey troll as he flew around on his flyer bug.

After leaving the village, Branch went to his personal stable to prepare his ride for the long journey to Bergen Town. He was currently keeping an eye out for Princess Poppy from high above the ground but so far he hasn’t even seen even a fraction of her yet.

But before leaving his bunker, the grey troll changed into a flannel shirt with ERLD camo patterns under his usual leaf vest, a pair of matching trousers, a black stripe painted under both eyes, a recurve bow hanging from his shoulder and a brown belt to hold his quiver full of arrows.

The village grump knew the princess was around here somewhere because he’s found clues leading him in this direction like the snake trying to unravel itself from its own body, a pink backpack full of things that Poppy would bring with her, a blue vest in her size and the half eaten berry on the ground.

As Branch guided the flyer bug in the right direction by turning the handles as if he were riding a bike, he noticed something happening below him.

There were about eight adult tarantacapuffs surrounding something that they’ve caught in their net. These arachnides were twice the size of the average troll, had eight navy blue legs, a purple bean shaped body, stripes everywhere, a lime green mohawk, large fangs and four eyes.

Whatever they were about to eat, it appeared to be unmoving, about height and very _pink_. It didn’t take a genius to put together who it was.

“Oh no you don’t!” The survivalist shouted as he drove the flyer bug downwards towards the arachnids and jumped off when he was at a safe altitude.

All eight spiders turned towards the sound of buzzing heading their way and watched as a dark figure landed gracefully a foot away from them. Standing up from his crouched position, Branch was giving the spiders an unnerving death stare for trying to harm the princess.

The survivalist whipped his hair at Poppy and wrapped his black locks around her waist. Once he had a good hold on her, the grey troll pulled the unconscious girl in his direction and away from the tall spiders.

After getting the princess away from the predators, Branch analyzed them for any known weaknesses he could take advantage of.

If the survivalist remembered correctly, tarantacapuffs were fairly easy to scare off. Even if they were known for being aggressive and territorial creatures that hunt in packs with many defense mechanisms like venomous bites and webs that solidifies when disturbed, these spiders run away when they realize that they're at risk of being killed or seriously injured.

Branch watched as the spiders hissed and approached him to get their meal back. He kept his eyes on the enemy as he removed the bow from his person and reached for an arrow from the quiver. He got into the proper stance by standing sideways with his feet apart at the same length as his shoulders. Getting a good hold on the grip, the grey troll pulled the string along with the arrow back all the way and aimed.

When the village grump released the arrow, it pierced through the thin leg of the closest predator. The intense pain made the wounded spider let out a pain filled shriek that caused the other tarantacapuffs to halt in place.

When the rest of the spiders saw the impaled limb of their comrade, they faced their attacker and watched as the grey troll reached for another arrow to fire.

Realizing that they were in trouble, they slowly backed away from the armed troll and disappeared into the greenery. They all silently agreed that they’d catch something else later.

Branch offered his enemy the time they needed to escape before he gave the princess his full attention. So far, she looked fine but he needed to get her out of the webs.

Once the webbing of a tarantacapuff hardens, it’s nearly impossible to escape. But there was a way to undo the effects. If the hardened webs were to be damped with water, they would go back to being soft.

Branch didn’t have any water on him at the moment and there weren’t any rivers or lakes in the area, but the village grump spotted some fully grown embosoms sprouting nearby.

Embosoms were blue flowers that bloomed on rainy days to catch water and close its petals around the droplets so it can slowly drink them at a steady pace to stay hydrated. (Like a bellflower combined with a cactus.)

The grey troll lifted Poppy onto his arms in bridal style and carried her towards the flowers. He then laid her down and stretched his black hair to yank one of the flowers off of the stem. The embosom was closed and big enough to fit in both of Branch’s arms, but he only focused on the abnormal weight that confirmed that there was rain water inside.

The survivalist pointed the flower at the pink troll, squeezed it with all his might until water shot out and splashed her. Once the webs were moist, they became as limp as soggy noodles and the grey troll could easily remove them from the princess.

“Poppy?” Branch spoke softly as he gently shook her. “Poppy, wake up!”

“Branch?...” Poppy groggily spoke as she cracked her eyes open. When she realized who had saved her, the pink troll’s eyes shot open and she grinned from ear to ear. “Branch!”

Poppy sat up and tried to hug the grey troll, but the village grump leaned away before she could lay a finger on his person.

“I’m so happy you’re here.” Poppy admitted as she stood up and twisted her hair like a soaked towel to get the water out.

“I bet.” Branch said before noticing the blue dots all over the girl’s body. "How long have you had those spots?"

"I have no idea.” Poppy said as she looked at her polka dotted arms. “They showed up after I ate a berry."

"Yeah, I found it not too long ago." Branch shook his head at Poppy's obliviousness. "You ate an ailing berry, ya sap. And just so you know, they're poisonous."

"What?! I ate poison?! Am I gonna die!?!" Poppy shouted hysterically.

"Calm down, ailing berries aren't deadly but they have rancid side effects. Blue spots, massive swelling, headaches, lightheadedness and vomiting. In that order by the way." Branch professionally stated.

"Is that why I blew up? And why I passed out back there?" Poppy said as she remembered her body becoming a giant ball and fainting in that webbing.

"Most likely. Have you thrown up yet?" Branch asked.

"No." Poppy answered before she realized something. "Yet? As in, it's gonna eventually happen?"

"Yes. Be mentally prepared for that 'cause it's gonna be really absolutely _foul_."

"Don't you have some medicine for it?" Poppy begged the survivalist.

"Even if you took medication, it wouldn't help.” Branch answered. “You've already digested it so it's in your system. You're gonna have to puke your guts out for this to end."

"Well this sucks..." Poppy sulked a bit at the bad news.

"Yup.” The survivalist agreed, secretly glad that she was only sick and not in any more danger. “Can we go now?"

“Go where? Back to your bunker?” The princess asked as she crossed her arms and stood her ground. “‘Cause if that’s where you want us to go, then forget it. I still have to save my friends.”

The village grump could only roll his eyes at the childish behavior. “I know, that’s why we’re going to go save those idiots.”

The pink troll gasped with a big smile and stars in her eyes. “Really?!”

“Yes.”

“Thankyousomuch!” Poppy rambled at an impressive speed from the excitement. “I promise this’ll be worth it once we save my buds!”

“I doubt it but whatever.” The grey troll said, already used to the pink troll speaking quickly. "By the way, do you have a plan or are you improvising?"

"Of course I have a plan! You think I was just gonna go to Bergen Town without a plan?"

Branch crossed his arms, not looking convinced. "Alright, let's hear it."

Poppy pulled a scrapbook out of her locks and showed him pages full of pop up characters. "Step 1: follow the bergen that took my friends. Step 2: stay close to it quietly like a ninja. Step 3: wait for the bergen to leave my friends alone so I can free them. Step 4: we run out of there full speed until we're back home. The last step is us celebrating getting away from that bergen!"

Branch looked more and more frustrated the longer Poppy broke down the _amazing_ details of her _brilliant_ ‘plan’. Can you feel the sarcasm coming off of that sentence?

"What do you think?" Poppy asked as she put her book back in her pink hair.

"I think we're all gonna die..." Branch stated as he rubbed his throbbing temple.

Poppy crossed her arms and pouted. "Well, do you have a better idea mister I'm-ready-for-anything?"

Branch smirked and pulled a map out of his travel pack and spread it open on the ground. "First of all, we'll never catch up to the bergen in time to save your friends if we just follow it."

"How do you know?" Poppy asked as she kneeled down next to the map.

"Because A) bergens are huge, which means they have long strides and are faster than us. I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets to Bergen Town by now if it doesn’t stop to rest. B) We can't get too close to it even if we _could_ keep up or we'll risk getting caught too. As much as I hate bergens, they aren’t stupid and it won’t have any trouble stopping us if our cover is blown. And C) we’re off course since you don't know where you're going."

"Do too!” Poppy shouted at the grey troll’s accusation. “I'm heading to Bergen Town and the bergen went this way!"

Branch shook as he pointed at the middle of a red trail on the map. "Poppy, you had to take a right by the rock that looks like an owl, not keep going forward. And you haven’t even been going completely straight because you're miles off course! You're lucky I followed your trail and stopped you before you got ever more lost."

Poppy felt really dumb when she realized that she doesn't really know where Bergen Town is located. She just picked the one direction that the bergen left in and has been going in a not-so-straight line ever since.

The princess groaned loudly in annoyance. "Fine! I'm a little lost! So what are we gonna do?"

"There's only one way we can catch up to that monster before it feeds any of your pals to the other bergen. We'll have to use the old tunnel system that's connected to the Troll Tree."

"You mean the ones my dad built in the stories?"

"The same one. We should be able to reach it by tomorrow morning if we do this my way. Is my plan suitable enough for the princess or does it need more sparkles?" He asked with a thick layer of derision.

"Yes!” Poppy answered without specifying which of the two questions she was answering. “Now let's get going! Which way should we go?"

Branch rolled up his map and pointed to his right. "It’s that way.”

As the princess began to skip in the direction the village grump pointed out, she was stopped by a hand grabbing her wrist.

“We’re not walking." Branch corrected.

“Hu?”

The grey troll answered by putting both of his pointer and middle fingers in his mouth and blew as hard as he could. The result was a sharp whistle that attracted a flyer bug with a backpack strapped to its backside, handlebars sticking out of the corner of its lips and a deepest coloration that the princess has never seen on these creatures before.

Branch hopped onto the flying insect and took hold of the handles. “Get on.”

“What’s wrong with the little guy’s colors?” Poppy asked as she approached the survivalist and his vehicle/companion.

Flyer bugs usually have beaming colors, but this one didn’t. It had the usual snail eyes and large lips, but this one had midnight blue fur, wings that were wine red and it’s pink legs were a dark shade of ruby.

“I’ve been feeding Pell-Mell blackberries to dim his fur.” Branch explained as he grabbed the princess’ hand and helped her onto the flying insect.

When someone wanted to change the color of a flyer bug, they gave the bugs fruits that could change the color of their body. Obviously, blackberries were rarely fed to them since it had the opposite effect most trolls wanted. But for Branch, the tint was perfect.

“Hold on tight and don’t try anything stupid.” The survivalist ordered as he twisted the wrist of the handles to get Pell-Mell to flap her wings.

The pink troll obeyed and wrapped her arms around the grey troll’s middle as the flyer bug took off into the air.

The princess had a goofy smile as Pell-Mell flew off the ground and turned towards the correct direction to Bergen Town. It felt nice to have the wind in her face while she looked down at the plants and animals passing by them at a fast pace.

Poppy then realized that this was the closets she’s ever gotten to giving Branch a hug. It technically doesn’t count as a hug since she was only doing this to keep herself from falling off the flyer bug, but still! The village grump was allowing her to get close and touch him!

And she had to say, the pink troll has hugged every single troll in Pop Village and not once has she felt a body as strong and robust as Branch’s before. Smidge was well built under that dress and so were the Sport trolls she’s hugged, but none were built as well as the grey troll she was currently holding onto.

"Wait, aren't the tunnels gone?” Poppy asked in realization. “My dad said that it fell apart right after everyone escaped."

"Yes but I've read that while the tunnel was being built, the excavators ran into animals that liked to burrow." Branch explained as he focused on driving. "Moles, rabbits, groundhogs and other animals were under Bergen Town and I'm sure they still are."

"Okay, but what does that have to do with our way in?"

"If my hunch is correct, which I'm sure it is, then a new tunnel was built by whatever animals are there and we can use it to get into enemy territory."

"You’re right!" Poppy was so relieved that Branch changed his mind and came along. “Thanks for coming. And thanks for letting me borrow your bunker.”

“Don’t worry about it.” The grey troll shrugged off her gratitude.

“Are you sure? I mean, it’s not like you let anyone know where you live and you're not a very good sharer.” The princess honestly didn’t think the grey troll would so easily allow the whole villager to take shelter in his home. “I thought we were gonna have to beg you to let us in.”

Branch couldn’t believe what he was hearing. "Is that what you think of me? Some solitary guy who won’t help others unless they’re on their knees pleading?”

“Uuuh...kinda?” The princess hesitated, not understanding why he was suddenly crabby. “You obviously don’t like us, so I thought you’d hate it if I brought everyone to your house. I assumed that you’d keep your bunker to yourself if we didn’t ask really nicely.” 

"Are you kidding me?” The village grump was so offended by her words that he shouted back at her immediately without thinking of the meaning his words will have. “I know what it's like to be helpless and scared! I wouldn't wish that on _anyone_!"

Poppy flinched at the harsh tone and the implication of that last sentence. "B-but what about our friends? You said we couldn't save them, but here you are."

"First of all, they’re _your_ friends. Second, I'm only here because I knew you'd mess up your own rescue mission and get killed in the dumbest way possible."

There was a long and awkward silence between them and Poppy didn’t like it. They’ve had fights like this before, but one of them usually leaves the other before the argument could turn for the worse. Neither of them could do that right now since they were midair and heading in the same direction.

If she wanted Branch to open up to her, they had to learn to communicate better than this. And it wasn’t Poppy’s fault that he was difficult to empathize with when he’s constantly being a grump

“Ya know, you could be a lot happier if you’d at least _try_ to be like other trolls.” The pink troll advised, hoping to get through the grey troll’s thick skull. “Doesn’t it suck working everyday and being alone all the time?”

For some reason, the already thick atmosphere only became a lot thicker when she said that. Feeling at fault for causing the discomfort with her big mouth and not wanting to make things worse, the princess decided to keep quiet until the survivalist was in a better mood.

‘I’d be happier if I act like everyone else? Yeah right...’ Branch pondered to himself. ‘I’m not going to fake being happy just to satisfy everyone else.’

The village grump has been doing everything in his power to keep the village and the people in it safe from any possible threat. He studies hard, trained himself to the bone, prepared for anything and he never once stopped growing his expertise just in case he forgot something useful. He won't let anyone else go through what he went through.

But the trolls of the village didn't see it that way.

Everyone thought Branch's work was a way for him to pass the time since he didn't have any friends and family to hang out with or as a way for the grey troll to fuel his own paranoia. He knew this for a fact because the villagers were as gossipy as a group of mean teenage girls and they weren't subtle about it. Heck, some of them even told the survivalist this stuff to his face when he tried to correct these outrageous stories.

Even Poppy, one of the few trolls to show the village grump at least half an ounce of respect, thinks his work is a weird habit of his and a part of his 'quirky' personality. She found his talents neat and interesting, but she never took it seriously.

And you know what? It would be undemanding of Branch if he were to simply end all of his preparations, move into the village with and act like the troll they all want him to be.

So why doesn't he just give up and give in? Because he still had important matters to attend to that needed his full attention. But if given the option, would he stop everything in exchange for the acceptance of everyone? No. He’d never do that. He wasn't going to stop even if every troll in the forest continued to judge him, ridicule him, shun him, and hate him until his last breath.

Branch won't let anyone else know what it's like to be grey. 

His thoughts were cut off by a voice behind him. “Branch?”

‘Nope.’ Branch stubbornly thought. ‘Just ignore her.’

“Can you hear me?”

‘Don’t listen, she’ll make you regret coming.’

This time, her voice was groggy. “Branch, please land...”

“Why?” Branch asked with a sigh as he turned to face the annoying princess. Then the grey troll gasped when he saw that Poppy’s face was now a sickly green.

“I’m gonna hurl...” The pink troll said as the ailing berries began to torture her digestive system.

Branch quickly landed Pell-Mell in the closest clearing he could find and watched the princess jump off the bug to hide behind some shrubs.

As irritated as he was with Poppy, the village grump and his flyer bug cringed at the sound of the usually lively princess emptying out her stomach contents.

  
**Name: Satin and Chenille a.k.a. the fashion twins**   
**Age: 22 (attached even as eggs)**   
**Birthstone: Peridot (felicity and protection)**   
**Misc. Type: Pop/Makers**   
**Loves: making their own cloth, dressing up their friends and fashion shows.**   
**Hates: wearing matching outfits, wardrobe malfunctions, and fighting each other.**   
**Fun Fact: They can separate themselves from each other, but they don't unless absolutely necessary. Otherwise, they stick together. (Literally)**   
**Motto: "Always take time to work on your looks!"**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I saw in Branch’s concept art that he had a bow and arrow so I made him a pro at archery. He’s also a master of different weaponry since he’s always ready to fight off anything, but his top three best weapons for fighting are the bow and arrow, throwing axes and the bo staff. He has more weapons but these three are his favorite.
> 
> And Branch now has a flyer bug he trained to help him with whatever he may need. I can think of many uses for a flyer bug, so I bet Branch would have twice as many plans for him. Where did he learn to fight? How did he meet this bug? You’ll find out in the sequel.
> 
> I like the idea of Branch being a socially awkward badass. He’s no John Wick when facing danger, but he does resemble a waaaay dorkier version of Jason Statham.


	6. Fake Happiness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brawdy is setting her plan in motion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the tardiness but my computer got a virus the second I finished uploading the last chapter. I don’t know why, I had a hard time using the internet and actually getting work done, but it’s fixed now and I can get back to writing.
> 
> And thank you for the love and support! I don’t reply to comments much because I’m super shy and don’t know how to respond to your kind word, but know that I read what you post and that I smile like a huge dork when I’m reminded that you're enjoying this.
> 
> Last but not least, a shout out to LigressTheWolf for finding an error in the last chapter and telling me about it so I could correct it. If you see something wrong with my writing then please call me out on it! I’m still new to publishing my work and I’d rather find and fix a mistake ASAP instead of finding it months later while reading my own story.
> 
> “This is regular dialogue”  
> ‘These are thoughts’  
> “Italics is singing”  
> Underlined is a flashback  
> Bold is a time or setting change  
> “Italics and underlined is a Fuzzling speaking”  
> “Bold and italics is auto-tune”  
> (Underlined in parentheses is a mini flashback)

It was hard to believe that the exiled bergen known as Brawdy traveled all the way from where she found the trolls to Bergen Town in twenty hours or so. Sure it was going to be night time soon but whatever.

Once she captured some trolls from that cutesy party, Brawdy went straight for her mobile home to put out the fire and collect the only thing that mattered to her: the briefcase protecting her chef’s uniform. The rest of the dirty vehicle and everything inside could perish where it stood because she didn’t need any of that garbage anymore.

Her feet were killing her after walking nonstop, she hasn’t eaten anything since yesterday morning, her left arm was tired from carrying the suitcase all day but the pain and exhaustion didn’t hinder the bergen’s smile. Ideas for reclaiming her place as the royal chef and the many possibilities she’ll have once she’s back where she belongs were running through her mind a mile a minute to keep her grin intact.

The ex chef has finally returned and nothing would stop her from taking over the town this time. After all, the second time’s the charm.

As Brawdy strolled through the collapsing gates of Bergen Town she was delighted to see that after being gone for so long, the place was more nauseating than ever. Her gullible species deserved to live in despair after what they did to her.

Before Trollstice, the bergen begrudgingly accepted that they couldn't be happy. Children threw tantrums about going to school, adults went to their boring jobs to get work done, teenagers caused problems because they’re one of many phases, the elderly stayed at home since they couldn’t do much else and everyone lived their lives in the same routine.

Everything was dull and repetitive to them. Wake up to a dark morning, eat bland food, contribute to society, go home to do some cleaning, take care of the annoying family, eat leftovers and then get some sleep for tomorrow. Wash, rinse, and repeat over and over again until the day they die. That was the bergen’s way of life.

And during the great times that Trollstice brought, bergens wore real smiles and had high hopes for the future. They grew brilliantly planted around their homes to liven up the place, went to work with pride, behaved themselves in public and interacted with each other more than ever before.

Bergens were happy to spend time with their loved ones, they made new friends, celebrated any occasions as an excuse to have fun and instead of settling with what they currently had, the people of Bergen Town strived for more. And it was all thanks to Chef Brawdy and her amazing discovery of the trolls.

But after their one way ticket to happiness escaped, Bergen Town was three times more miserable. Now that the glum creatures knew that they could be happy but can’t anymore, the entire species spiraled into a deep depression at the same time.

They stayed indoors unless they needed anything, didn’t bother to keep their houses clean, did the minimum amount of work, barely talked with one another and let the town crumble to pieces. All of the plants were dead, windows were so cloudy that it was impossible to see through them, the gates were completely useless now that they were on the ground, schools were practically abandoned and the food in grocery stores were caked with dirt and quickly rotting.

The only things that made the town look less dingy was the moss, critters and few bergens roaming around. But that was only because no one had the energy to clean the green clumps off of the buildings or shoo away the occasional squirrel and the bergens that were out had lifeless looks in their eyes.

Most people would feel some remorse for the townspeople, but Brawdy thought it was poetic justice that her absence caused a chain reaction of sorrow. Allowing the king to banish her, their hero and master chef, without a second thought because of some rainbow rats? Pathetic!

The castle was near the center of town so she still had a bit more walking to do before she got to her destination. The palace was the nicest building in the whole town with towers, a small moat and beautiful items inside. It was still a pig sty like everything else there but it was a lot cleaner and more rich than the rest of Bergen Town.

‘You’re almost there.’ Brawdy thought to herself as the grey castle came into view. ‘These morons will rue the day they banished me.’

**Inside the castle**

The stone walls of the fortress were tedious but some life could be seen within when bits of light escaped the dark clouds that swirled above them. The current owner of the castle, King Gristle Jr, was brooding on his oversized throne like he does every single day.

He watched with disinterest as two guards slept when they were supposed to be watching the door, his butlers played with an old yo-yo instead of making his rounds and his five maids doing a half-arsed job at mopping the floor. With a lukewarm sigh, King Gristle slouched further into his throne. Now in his twenties, the king was a few feet taller but still short, had jagged teeth and was chubbier than when he was a toddler.

He wore a hastily made crown of gold with small gems carelessly glued on, a red and white striped t-shirt that was too small for him, a pair of blue shorts, a red cape with an emerald brooch, thick white socks and dirty sandals. The small king was royalty and should look the part, but he was dressed poorly like a small child who wanted to put his own clothes on. He didn’t care if he looked tidy or not because nobody else cared. Sure, his bergens listened to his orders and respected him but after Trollstice ended, people have been more and more detached so the young king had no other choice but to join them.

It didn’t help that before passing away, Gristle’s father was the biggest downer in town after that dreadful day. Once the culprit who lost the trolls was punished with banishment, Gristle Sr. went from a doting dad and jolly king to a sad man who stayed in bed to sulk all day.

When the current bergen king asked his father if there was any way for him and their citizens to be happy without eating a troll, King Gristle Sr gave his young son an honest answer. Unless by some miracle the trolls were returned to Bergen Town, no one will be able to feel real joy ever again.

Having to watch his home and people become impassive and apathetic broke the small king’s heart. Growing up, he thought that the town would continue to thrive and stay cheerful forever thanks to their newfound happiness. But if things stay the way they are, bergens would soon be gone. And as their king, the fault would be his for not being able to find a way around these problems.

Gristle Jr. turned his head upwards and stared at his father’s face. Nailed to the wall behind the throne was a portrait of the late King Gristle Sr. who left his son to look after the kingdom and the bergen who lived there.

“Oh dad...” King Gristle Jr. moaned as he melted into the cushions. “I wish I could make everyone happy like you did. Now we’re gonna live sucky lives forever.”

The small king wasn’t expecting his prayers to reach anyone. He wasn’t expecting an answer to his desperate request.  


The door was opened with a long squeak that echoed throughout the throne room, spooking the guards awake and grabbing the king’s attention. Every bergen that was currently in the throne room stared at the figure who entered and froze in apprehension.

“Not if I can help it.” Said the polished voice of an unpolished woman.

Brawdy walked into the stone castle with so much confidence that it was as if she owned the place and the people in it. The sight of the infamous chef in rags and carrying luggage with who-knows-what inside made the bergen between her and their king tremble.

“It’s you!” King Gristle cried when he recognized the chef from so long ago. “What are you doing here? You’re not allowed in Bergen Town!”

"Hello to you too Prince Gristle.” The ex chef greeted as she lowered her head to show the young king her respects. “Or should I say  _ King  _ Gristle?"

"That's right, I'm the king now so answer my question!" The bergne king confirmed as he stood on the seat of his throne and tried to look as professional as possible.

"I thought so." The dirty bergen commented as she searched the room for someone. "Where  _ is  _ your father?"

Gristle’s features then saddened but he stayed strong in the presence of the ex chef. "He died a few years ago."  


'Good riddance you ugly son of a gun.' Through the chef in relief that the old king had died before she arrived. It would've been hard to convince that old bum to forgive her and lift the banishment, but it looks like she doesn’t have to worry about Gristle Sr.

"I'm sorry for your loss." Brawdy apologized with a deep bow to hide her toothy grin. "I'm sure it's been hard taking care of a whole town without any guidance. But after everything that’s happened, it looks like you’re doing great on your own."

“Thank you but you didn’t answer my question. Why are you here?” He asked again.

Brawdy straightened her back and smiled as warmly as she could. “I’ve come to reclaim by place as your royal chef and continue my duties to make our people happy.”

“First of all, I don’t have a royal chef.” The bergen king stated.

After chef Brawdy was banished, the castle’s kitchen was shut down. Only the scullery was open to clean the dirty dishes, cups and utensils but the rest was left untouched. Since he no longer trusted anyone to make his food by hand, King Gristle either ate at the best restaurants or had his food to be brought to the castle.

“And second, we can’t be happy anymore thanks to you!” The king raised his voice in an attempt to look intimidating. “You lost our trolls and now we’re stuck being depressed forever.”

The ex chef didn’t say anything since she had something with her that would be a thousand times better than words.  


She unzipped her fanny pack, reached inside as slowly as possible for dramatic effect and pulled out the most amazing thing that King Gristle has ever seen.

Dangling by their hair from Brawdy’s pinched fingers were four trolls! One of them was red and kicking her legs in an attempt to swing off, there was a light pink troll hugging the blueish purple one with no intent of letting each other go and the last troll was trying to yank his white hair out of the bergen’s hand.

While the king’s servants were speechless at the sight, Gristle had a lot to say.

“You found the trolls?!” King Gristle shouted in disbelief. “What?! How?! When?! Where?! Why?! Who?!”

Brawdy smirked at the reaction but quickly suppressed it. “After your father banished me in a fit of rage I spent my days searching for the trolls. I was worried that my people’s sanity wouldn’t last without them so I traveled all over the forest until I found the tiny things. I apologize for taking so long, but the trolls wandered very far from town.”

The young king hopped off of his throne and walked over to the taller bergen. “They’re really here. You brought them back...”

King Gristle wanted to eat one right now and for once in his life be happy. He was promised a troll years ago but that never happened. Now that there were some right in front of him, it felt like he was suddenly hungry. Not because his stomach was empty, but because his heart was crying out for a taste of happiness.  


Before the king could get his hands on one, the ex chef shoved the tiny creatures back into her fanny pack and zipped it shut.

“Yes I did. And I know you want everyone in Bergen Town to know about this too, right?” Brawdy reminded the king. “Your father always loved sharing with others.”

Snapping out of his own captivating thoughts, the bergen king looked around and noticed the desperation his guards, butler and maids were suddenly radiating off of them. There was also something showing that he’s never seen in anyone before. They had anticipation and excitement in their eyes after seeing those trolls and were waiting to see what actions their king was going to take next after this revelation.

Gristle realized that they wanted to be happy just as much as him, so as their king he was going to provide them with what they want!

No, this isn’t just about wanting something. He and the townspeople  _ need  _ to be happy.

With a new spark of inspiration, the king made his decision. “We have to tell everyone that the trolls are back!” King Gristle Jr. declared.

“Excellent idea, your majesty!” The taller bergen responded. “But seeing as it’s dark out, I think it’s best that this waits until tomorrow.”

The young king agreed and ordered the servants to leave and keep this a secret until he makes the royal announcement himself. They agreed with a glee that surprised them and left to give their leader some privacy.  


“If the trolls are here, does that mean we can-?”

“Bring Trollstice back? Of course!” Brawdy assured with a big smile. “But if we’re going to have a proper Trollstice we’ll need to get the celebration ready. A room big enough for everyone, tabled full of delectable dishes, decorations of every color and some music.”

“I guess I’ll order the food, get the castle clean, decorate the ballroom, hire more staff, invite everyone over a-and...” The King Gristle listed off nervously. How was he going to get all of this done?! He’s never hosted a party before, much less a party as important as Trollstice!

“You have nothing to fear your highness.” The chef reassured him with a pat on his back. “I’ve done this plenty of times before, remember? If you’d like, I could take care of everything.”

“Really? You’d do that for me?” The king asked in awe. “That’s a lot of important work for one person to be in charge of. And you know what they say, ‘with great responsibility comes great authority’. Are you sure you can handle it?”

Authority you say? Yes please!

The chef gave the king a cocky grin. “You can count on me.”

King Gristle led Chef Brawdy to her old room and had a chat the entire way there about what had to be done in the next few days.  


“It’ll take some time to get the party ready. Most of the shops have been shut down and we’ll need to find old supplies or make new ones.” Chef Brawdy thought out loud. “Trollstice will have to wait.”

King Gristle didn’t like the sound of that. “Wait? For how long?”

“Two or three days at most.” Brawdy clarified. “I’ve seen the markets and noticed that the produce is...disgusting.”

“Can’t you work with what we have?”

“Of course I could make something appetizing with this trash, but don’t you want to spoil your poor citizens with the perfect Trollstice? Your father always went out of his way to make each year a spectacle.”

“I guess you’re right.” King Gristle nodded as the chef smiled at his submission.

It was tricky to convince the previous king to agree with her, but Junior here was still young and impressionable. He would be a lot easier for Brawdy to manipulate since he’s already in a bad situation. She may not even need to find ways to intimidate or blackmail him. Once this is over, she’ll make sure the king is forever grateful to her.

“And if it isn’t too much trouble, could I have my place as your head chef back?”  


The bergen king chuckled bashfully for forgetting such a simple task. “Certainly! As king of Bergen Town, I declare you un-banished and rehired as my personal chef.”

Brawdy couldn’t be happier. “Thank you so much for your kindness. I swear on my talents as a cook that I’ll do nothing less than my best.”

“I know you will.” King Gristle stated genuinely, not having any doubt that things were finally turning up for him and his people.

With the plans cleared up and the chef’s title restored, the king left Brawdy to make herself more presentable and went to his room to sleep. Although it would be hard to sleep with images of a Trollstice party stuck in his head.

Looking around, the royal chef noticed that her room was exactly how she left it. There was a queen sized bed with a masterfully carved frame, a balcony with a nice view, a walk-in closet filled with her clothes, a wooden dresser with her personal items and her own bathroom that she missed most of all. Even the old cage she used to collect trolls was unmoved from it’s spot on the drawer.

The chef removed her fanny pack and opened the tiny gate of the empty troll cage. She tilted the cage back, unzipped the bag and dropped the trolls into the metal prison. After making sure that they were all inside, Brawdy closed the teeny door and put a heavy lock on it to keep the vermin inside.  


The nine trolls picked themselves off of the dusty floor of the prison and finally stood on their own feet to stretch their aching bodies. Having to be crushed under each other’s weight for hours was extremely unpleasant.

“I’ll be right back. But if I see any signs of tampering, I will chew you up and spit out what’s left in the toilet!” She threatened the petrified trolls as she went to the restroom.

Brawdy removed her disgusting outfit, threw in straight into the trash and stood under the showerhead as warm water rained over her. She was in heaven!

After taking a much needed hot shower to get the dirt off of her skin and the grease out of her hair, brushing her cyan locked into a suitable hairdo and wrapping a clean towel around her soaked body, Chef Brawdy looked herself over in a large mirror to admire her beauty. (If you can call it that.)

Once she was satisfied that she was as fresh as a cucumber, the chef went up to her briefcase and took out the very same uniform she wore before being kicked out of town. It still fit the chef after so long and was in peak condition.

Yes, Brawdy was dead tired after a full day of walking to Bergen Town but she didn’t want to sleep until the renewed chef had a chance to boss bergens around like in the good old days. And she had to find a safe place to keep these trolls and someone to use as a patsy in case anything goes wrong.  


Once she was dressed as the master chef that she is and groomed to perfection, the frightening chef put a sheet over the cage that held the trolls and made her way around the king’s home in search of bergens lazing about.

And it didn’t take long to find servants slacking off. Not on her watch!

“Get out of my way and do your job you lazy bums!”

“My bedroom is filthy and I want it cleaned before I get back!”

“Make yourselves useful and vacuum these rugs!”

“Are you blind?! These flowers are dead! Throw them away now!”

“Don’t stop waxing that vase until I can see my reflection off of it!”

“I want you to get my list of groceries picked up by yesterday!”

“Keep moping! I want these floors clean enough to eat off of!”

“Why are the windows so dirty? Go get a towel and wash them!”

“Go to the store and buy the best kitchen equipment they have!”

“You’re all nothing but a pile of _dingleberries_!”  
  


Another reason why she was appointed the royal chef was because she had a knack for getting her subordinates to do their tasks properly. If there’s something that she was good at aside from cooking, it was scaring the daylights out of people until they do what they’re told.

Chef Brawdy sighed in content. ‘It’s good to be back.’

Brawdy swung the cage carelessly, ignoring the cries of the trolls within as she made a B-line for the kitchen she missed so much. But instead of a kitchen fit for a ten-star restaurant, she found herself with a poor excuse for a cooking area!

The tables were covered in grime, the pots and pans were rusted, the cabinet doors were falling off of their hinges, there was no fresh food other than the fruit bowl full of moldy apples and rotten bananas, the silverware was replaced with plastic utensils, the knives were dulled out, the fridge had microwavable products inside and the floor was a disaster!

How could these imbeciles let her magnificent kitchen crumble into such a pitiful state!?! The second she found the incompetent janitor, chef Brawdy was going to rip him  _ two  _ new ones!

“Those idiots!!” Chef Brawdy shouted to no one. “This is a place of honor and dignity!! Anyone who would allow this to happen should be executed for being brainless wastes of space!”

Her ranting was cut short when the chef heard the doors being opened behind her and a timid voice followed.

“P-please excuse me, but I need to get these cleaned.” Said a young lady as she made her way to the scullery with a box of dirty dishes.

Turning around, Brawdy spotted a girl in a pink maid’s uniform covered in stains and tears. She was around the king’s height with the same chubby figure, had heather purple skin, rosy cheeks with green freckles, hot pink eyes, a pickle green nose, teeth in random angles and short crepe pink hair in pigtails.

“You!” Brawdy shouted at the unfortunate bergen. “I want this place spotless by tomorrow morning and I better not find a speck of dust anywhere!”

The poor girl flinched at the grating tone. “Yes ma’am!” It wasn’t her job to clean the kitchen but the smaller bergen wasn’t going to argue with this familiar lady.

“That’s  _ chef  _ to you. And I want you to look after these until I need them.” Chef Brawdy said as he placed a bird cage on the counter.

“W-what is it?”  


“ _ These _ , my chunky subordinate, are our salvation.” Brawdy said as she dramatically removed the cloth from the cage to reveal the trolls locked inside. She loved showing off to her underlings whenever she could.

“Woah...”

Bridget was beyond amazed. She has never had a chance to eat a troll like so many bergens her age so the sight of these incredible beings in Bergen Town gave her hope that she’ll be happy for once in her life.

Said amazement turned into terror when the head chef approached her.

“Listen...” The chef then realized that she never asked for a name. “Name?”

“Bridget.”

“Listen Widget! Brawdy shouted as she came face to face with the trembling maid. “If anything happens to these trolls, it’ll be  _ your  _ fault! So guard them with your life because that’s exactly what’s at stake!”

“Yes chef! You can count on me, chef!” Bridget assured as she ran off to get the cleaning supplies before the monstrous bergen could keep yelling at her.

Seeing that she was completely alone, Chef Brawdy smirked and loomed over the petrified trolls. “Enjoy the next few days you bunch of rats. Your time will come to an end on Trollstice 2.0.”

“Wait!” Smidge shouted. “Can’t we make a deal? I think we can work this out!”

DJ Suki chimed in since this might be their chance. “Yeah! We could find another way for bergens to be happy.”

“We’re expected at making people smile.” Cooper backed up his friends. “We’ll do whatever we can if you set us free.”

“I’m positive your people can live happy lives without the regrets that come with eating innocent beings such as ourselves.” Creek added as he tried to control his shaking hands.

“No thank you.” Brawdy dismissed without considering their offer. “I’m not letting this opportunity to control the kingdom slip through my fingers a second time.”

Satin ran up to the bars. “Please, we don’t wanna die here!”

“Does it look like I care?”

Chenille tried to support her twin. “What the heck lady! You said you want to help, so why the cold shoulder?”

Fanny packs weren’t exactly soundproof. It was hard to breath and move when they were all squished together but they could hear what was going on around them, including the conversation their kidnapper had with her king.

“Shut up!” Brawdy slammed her fist besides the cage in irritation. “I don’t give a damn whether or not you want to live or die. I don’t even care if the rest of Bergen Town stays miserable. As long as I can enjoy my position as the king’s personal chef, I won’t need to eat any trolls to be happy!”

There was a long pause as the royal chef glared at the trembling trolls.

"Bergens can be happy  _ without  _ eating us?" DJ Suki softly asked as she and her friends came to the same horrifying realization.  


"Yup. I figured it out a long time ago." Chef Brawdy answered like that piece of information wasn't earth shattering news.

Revealing her secret was an accident but it didn’t matter if they knew. The town still believed that trolls were dumb creatures that couldn’t think straight and even if they heard about this from said creatures, no one would believe them. These trolls knowing the truth was nothing for the chef to worry about.

"T-then why are you doing this?" Biggie asked with the little bit of courage he had. He didn’t know which was worse, dying in the name of good spirits or being used for a devious purpose.

"Because then I'd lose my own pleasures if I told the truth."

The trolls tilted their heads in confusion. "Eh?"

Brawdy chuckled cruelly at their obliviousness. She found out where true happiness comes from during her first year as the royal chef. Bossing everyone around, bergens fearing her and having control over others were things that make the chef oh so happy. She would always grin to herself at the wonderful memories from all those years ago and it made her all warm and fuzzy inside.

“But anyways!” Brawdy said bombastically, smirking at the cowering trolls. “I’m going to sleep. I've got a long day of reviving Trollstice tomorrow and I need my rest. Have a lovely night my tasty little appetizers.”

With that bit of teasing done, the chef’s made her leave and her laughter echoed through the dark hallways.

Once they were finally away from those bergens, the Snack Pack was comfortable enough to speak freely.

“This can’t be happening!” Biggie shouted as he hugged Mr.Dinkles so tight that his little eyes and tongue bulged out of his face.

_ “What’re we gonna do?!” _ Fuzzbert asked as he ran around in circles.

“I’m dreaming. There’s no way we’re about to be bergen food!” Guy said to himself.

“We’re all gonna die!” Cooper screamed at the top of his lungs.

And by ‘speak freely’ I meant freak out.

"Everyone, we must stay calm." Creek said as he fixed his disoriented hair. "I know this is draining us inside, but we must clear our minds so we can think properly."

Dj gave the guru a nod. "As usual, you’re right."

"Yeah, we should take a breather." Biggie suggested as she sat down and was joined by his friends.

Satin, Chenille, Biggie, Cooper and Guy sat away from the cage’s closed gate to calm themselves down while the others tried to be efficient.  


Smidge looked at the giant lock for a way to open it but she didn’t know how to pick locks. Suki took out her portable music player from her orange braids and placed it by her frightened friends to help ease their nerves. Fuzzbert took bags of chips and cans of soda from the party out of his green hair to pass around since they haven’t eaten in a while. And Creek stayed by the bars, staring at the kitchen with a blank expression and a lot on his mind.

“What should we do?” Chenille asked her friends.

“We gotta get outta here.” Satin answered not so helpfully.

The lavender sighed dramatically at her sister’s words. “Well duh, but how?”

There was a beat of silence as everyone drank their soda and ate their chips. They all took the time to think of a way to get out of the cage, leave the kitchen and rescape Bergen Town together, but sadly no one could piece together a plan and that made them fear for their lives.

The Treasure troll played ‘Happy’ to lighten the mood on the lowest volume setting so they didn’t attract any of those hungry monsters. Normally, she would blast her songs as loud as possible so her friends could feel the beat in their souls, but she was too scared of the bergens to do her absolute best.

“Bergens are a lot scarier than I imagined.” Biggie said while giving his worm sips of his soda. “Especially that chef. What was her name again?”

Smidge huffed at the Giant troll. “Her name’s Brawdy and of course she’s scary. She’s gonna be one cooking us!”

Chenille hugged her legs to her chest. “This is worse than wearing fleece in summer.”

“Or a handkerchief skirt on a windy day.” Satin added as she leaned against her sister.

_ “Come on guys, don’t talk like that.” _ Fuzzbert spoke up.  _ “We won’t escape if you keep thinking that way.” _

“He’s correct my friends.” Creek agreed with his usual smile. “Being pessimistic will only bring us down deeper into the pit of doubt.”

“But we’re in a bergen’s kitchen.” Guy pointed out. “How’re we going to put a positive spin on that?“

Another moment of silence?  _ Really _ ? That wasn’t normal for the famous Snack Pack. They’ve never gone this long without talking or singing or beat boxing or listening to music or making jokes. And the more this happened, the harder it was to accept that this might be the end of the road for the nine trolls.

“Man...” Cooper spoke up with the smallest smile he’s ever had. “If I'm gonna be food, I better end up in a wacky watermelon smoothie. I freaking love those.”

Leave it to the Mystic troll to start up the weirdest yet most enjoyable conversation topic ever. It was welcoming to be silly even now of all times.

The Treasure troll smirked as she had an idea of her own. “If I’m being eaten, I wanna be a mellow mango cupcake with sprinkles and chocolate bits on top.”

“Lemon lift pie...” The Teaspoon troll chuckled as she joined her friends in the circle. “Nothing beats being baked into a delicious lemon lift pie.”

“Do you think bergens have a way to turn trolls into cotton candy?” Biggie asked as he drooled at the thought of his favorite treat.

Guy rolled his eyes. “Oh please, I’m going out in style as a cake ornament! Why die tasting good when you could die looking good.” The pastel pink troll gave the Glitter troll a fist bump while the lavender troll shot him a thumbs up at the awesome idea.  


“And if we keep thinking all negative like this we’ll end up grey and stale like Branch.” Chenille reminded her friends as Satin made barfing noises at the thought.

That got a laugh out of the trolls. The Snack Pack couldn’t help but wonder what the village grump was doing right now. Knowing Branch, he was hiding in his super secret bunker like a paranoid gopher while the rest of the villagers were looking for a way to save them.

Creek smiled at the sight of his companions having a nice time even in this dark atmosphere. He could already feel the mood becoming lighter with their laughter, but he didn’t feel like joining their conversation at the moment.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to be over here meditating.” The purple troll said as he went towards the locked gate to put some distance between himself and the other trolls.

“Go for it. We’ll be right here if ya need us.” Cooper encouraged.

With a nod the guru sat down with his legs crossed and entwined his fingers in the Apan Vayu Mudra position to help him relax. Taking a slow and deep breath through his nose, the purple troll closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind of this awfulness.

_ “So what now?” _ Fuzzbert asked as he wiggled his toes out of boredom.

“For now, we should wait.” Guy Diamond suggested.

“You heard what the bergen king said, right?” Smidge added as she finished her chips. “They’ll tell everyone that Trollstice is back tomorrow and it’ll take more than a day to get the party ready.”

Biggie gasped as he caught onto their idea. “So we have a day or two to escape!”

“Dingo.” The twins confirmed in union.

“Plus, I’m sure Poppy’s on her way to save us.” Cooper cut in. “I mean, it’s not like she’s gonna do nothing while we’re here.”

“True.” Suki agreed. “I bet she’s on her way here right now with everyone else right behind her.”

Everyone nodded since they knew that their princess/bestest friend would come to their rescue like the loyal and headstrong girl that she is. They would bet their hair that the pink troll was on her way right now and singing the entire trip here.

And of course their people would back her up! They grew up with everyone, threw the best parties ever for them and, not to brag but were pretty popular. And who could say no to Poppy’s pretty face of hers? And she’s also the queen as of yesterday so the trolls have to follow her order or else’.

“I bet she’s gonna get here by tomorrow.” Biggie said as he laid on his back and put Mr.Dinkles on his round belly.

“Or she’ll rescue us at the very last second for dramatic effect.” Guy Diamond declared and threw his head back for a dash of flare.

“Either way, we’re gonna be okay.” DJ Suki replied with confidence while laying on her front and crossing her arms into a pillow.

The exhausted troll decided to sleep off the stress since being stuck in a fanny pack wasn’t the best way to get a good night's sleep.

Fuzzbert turned towards the Guru troll.  _ “Aren’t you tired?” _

The purple troll cracked one of his eyes open and smiled at the concern. “Worry not, I will join you soon once I’m done.”

_ “Alright, then goodnight bud.” _ The Fuzzling said as he laid down on his side.

“It’s cool that Creek’s chill right now, hu guys?” Cooper whispered to his friends as they watched with admiration as the guru meditated like a statute of serenity.

But Creek was definitely  _ not  _ calm on the inside. The more he realized that he’s going to die here, cooked and eaten by hideous beasts, the more trouble he had keeping his composure.

He knew his friends were only joking when they were talking about a food they’d like to be, but it only served to fuel his fears. Being put in a blender for a smoothie, sitting in an oven to become a pie or being spun uncontrollably to become troll flavored cotton candy made his mind think of other horrid things that could happen to him.

The thought of a fork being stabbed through his purple body as a knife cuts him into smaller pieces made him sick to his stomach. Thinking about being boiled or minced or deep fried or whatever that chef was going to do shook the purple troll to his core. The images of himself being swallowed alive by one of those bergens made his heart beat a lot faster.

Thankfully, the sound of his closest friends saying goodnight to each other freed him from the waking nightmares. Now that he was done contemplating, Creek decided that it was best to join the other trolls in their attempt to catch up on sleep.

Once everyone was settled in their spot and done being polite, they got as comfortable as they could on the cold metal floor. They had a lot to do tomorrow but tonight all they could do was rest after this terrifying day, make plans as soon as possible and hope for the best.

**Meanwhile with Poppy and Branch  
**

After a long day of flying and the sight of the black night sky, the grey troll landed his flyer bug in a safe camping spot to get some sleep.

While Branch made a fire and took care of his flyer bug, Poppy rolled out the green and brown sleeping bags on opposite sides of the fire. Once she was done, the pink troll decided to be nice and gather some scrumptious leaves to refuel their bug friend with.

As the princess set down the food for Pell-Mell, the village grump removed the retainers from the insect’s mouth to give the little guy’s jaws a break.

When a troll needed better control of their flyer bug, special retainers with handlebars welded onto the Adam’s clasp were made for the bugs to wear. That way, beginners can have something to hold onto while they practice and experts can control their vehicle better when they want to go faster or do cool stunts.

Things were still awkward between the two trolls, but at least they were both being civil, respective and mature about it. After the princess threw up from the ailing berry, the village grump offered her a towel to wipe her mouth and a container of cold but pleasant spearmint tea to soothe her stomach. And Poppy quietly enjoyed the ride and asked casual questions instead of invasive ones to break the discomfort.

The pink troll smiled as Pell-Mell ate the leaves she gave him for dinner. She loved watching bugs eat because of the way they take horizontal bites out of leaves. Poppy thought it was cute and funny.

With a big yawn, Poppy stood up and headed to the soft fabric of her sleeping bag that was calling her name.

As she walked over to her sleeping bag, Branch noticed the way the girl slightly staggered with every step. Quickly becoming concerned, the survivalist approached her and stayed close in case she faints and needs to catch her.

After the pink troll puked a few yards back, her spots disappeared and she was feeling a lot better. Branch still ordered her to tell him if she felt anything out of the ordinary, but nothing of the sort happened the whole ride here. He did however have an idea of what the current problem may be with this stubborn girl.

“When was the last time you’ve slept?” The grey troll suddenly asked as he walked the dazed girl to her spot besides the flames.

“I took a quick nap before my birthday party/coronation ceremony.” The princess stated as she sat down and stared at the warm fire. She was glad that he was finally speaking to her like before.

Branch couldn’t believe this girl sometimes. “You’ve gone almost 24 hours without sleeping?!”

“I guess so.” Poppy shrugged, not understanding why Branch was yelling. “What’s the big deal?”

“Sleep deprivation can cause your health to decline.” The village grump explained as he gave the pink troll some of his food rations. “You lose focus, can’t think straight, gain weight and even hallucinate if you stay awake for too long.”

“Speaking from experience?” Poppy asked as she took a bite of the cheese stick and tossed a few almonds chunks in her mouth, now curious on the subject.

“Yes.” Branch stated honestly. “When I was seventeen I had a lot of ideas I wanted to get done as soon as possible. For about four or five months I went days, even weeks without sleep.”

“Woah, I can’t even imagine what that’s like. Was it bad?”

“Yeah and you’ve seen me all loopy like that before, remember? You and your friends found me acting weird that one time? I was twitchy and skeptical about everything.”

Branch remembered on his thirteenth day without sleep, he started seeing things that weren’t there, began irritated at random times, saw spiders crawling up his arms, imagined things moving under his skin, his vision was blurry and he became light headed at random times.

And wouldn’t you know it? While he was collecting acorns for his latest invention on one of his worst days of hallucinations, the Snack Pack came by to invite him to the Electric Foam Parade. The village grump declined, but they all noticed his odd behavior before leaving. But while the princess was worried about his well being, her friends didn’t hesitate to chat with each other about theories on what was happening (minus Poppy since she didn’t approve of rumors) and tell everyone else in the village about what they witnessed.

“Oh yeah! You were being really weird then.” The princess exclaimed as the memory came back to her.

She remembered that day because Branch wasn’t acting like his usual sharp-eyed self. Thinking back, he kept looking himself over as if there was something on him and scratching his arms too much. It was also easy to recall because the gossip mill about the grey troll’s mental state skyrocketed for over a month.

The pink troll still has no idea how everyone found out about that since only she and her friends were there when Branch was acting funny. Did someone else catch a glimpse of the village grump at a bad time too?

”So naps are good for you?” Poppy asked as she finished her bottle of water.

“Very. Now get some beauty sleep.” The village grump then smirked slightly. “You seriously need it.”

The pink troll rolled her eyes at the lame joke. “You're not as funny as you think you are.”

“On the contrary, I’m hilarious.” Branch said as he went to his side of the campfire. “We’re gonna wake up early tomorrow so don’t stay up too late.”

As Poppy and her guide got comfortable on the hard ground, she decided to use this as an opportunity to put the past strain behind them and get friendlier. 

“Thanks again for coming.” The princess whispered. “I’d be a goner if you haven't shown up.”

“Stop thanking me.” The village grump said as he looked up at the sky. “Seriously, stop it.”

Poppy smiled and shook her head at the grey troll’s humbleness. Branch had a hard time taking praise for some reason. Whenever she said he was cool, smart, talented or anything else that was nice, the grey troll would either deny it or ask her to stop.

Compliments were like thoughtful gifts to trolls, so challenging those compliments without a good reason was considered extremely rude since it was the equivalent of rejecting a thoughtful present.

But with or without Branch giving her a ‘good reason’, the pink troll knew that he wasn’t  _ trying  _ to be mean. The survivalist was just shy and a little embarrassed but Poppy accepted that about him and paid no attention to his ‘rudeness’.

Poppy took her framed pictures of the missing trolls out of her hair and placed it right next to her pillow so she could get a good look at the faces of her missing friends. In every photo the Snack Pack was smiling and in a pose that best suited them.

Satin and Chenille were side by side as always with one had on their hips, Biggie was pressing Mr.Dingles against his face, Smidge was showing off her arms by flexing, Cooper was blowing a raspberry that made his picture slightly blurry, Fuzzbert was in midair and clicking his heels, Guy was confidently sitting with his legs crossed and leaning against the chair, Suki was making two peace signs for the camera with a chill smirk and Creek was as handsome as ever with his sweet smile and hands pressed together.

“Wait for me a little longer guys.” She whispered to the multicolored frame. “We’re almost there and I’m getting us home.”

They both closed their eyes and allowed themselves to finally sleep for the night. There was nothing but the stars in the sky, the fire crackling and the crickets chirping as the two trolls rested. Everything was so peaceful...

Bing!

The princess sat up after the hug time bracelet went off again, reminding her that she needed to hug the nearest troll. Sadly, that troll was Branch.

"Go ahead. Try and hug me. _ I dare you _ ." The grey troll threatened.

Poppy had spent a good chunk of their flight giving the village grump’s torso a squeeze every time her bracelet bringed, Branch had enough and put a stop to it. After the seventh hug time the village grump promised the royal troll that if she didn't stop hugging him, he would tie her up and hang her off of Pell-Mell’s hide by a rope after he was done gagging her.

She knew for a fact that the survivalist was a man of his word, so with a sigh of defeat the princess flopped back down and stared at the black abyss of space.

“You're so dramatic.” The pink troll reminded her future friend. “It's like you think hugs melt your insides or something. If anything, they can make you feel a lot better.”

“I’ve heard but I don’t like physical contact.” The grey troll replied as he turned his head away from the stubborn girl.

“How come?”

“You know I’m not going to answer that.”

This time, Poppy stood up to get the high ground. “But Branch, I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me. Can’t you be a little more open?”  


She’s been asking him the same questions regarding his past and odd personality for years but he still hasn’t answered them properly. Why was he grey? Why won’t he be her friend? Why was he so worried about everything? Why does he want to be alone? Just  _ why _ !

Branch frowned at the notion. “Help me? I never once asked for your help.  _ Not once. _ You're the one who won’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

“I’m just trying-”

“I know!” The grey troll cut her off as he sat upright. “I know what you’re gonna say, so don’t even try. Don’t hug me, don’t throw me parties, don’t offer me candy, don’t ask me to dance and don’t even think about getting me to sing because I absolutely  _ loathe  _ singing.”

The two trolls stared at each other in a tense silence, both feeling too proud to back down.

‘Maybe I’m doing the right thing the wrong way.’ Poppy thought to herself. ‘Music can make anyone happy, but Branch doesn't like anything I sing. So what song would the village grump of all people like?’

"Isn't there at least one song you like?” The princess carefully asked. “Making and listening to the sound of beautiful music is a troll's pride and joy."

"The only sound I enjoy is the sound of silence." The village grump said as he laid back down and placed his head under the pillow to block out the chatty princess.

Branch hated being brash to Poppy but what other choice did he have? When they were both teenagers, the grey troll learned that showing even the slightest hint of happiness or kindness would only serve to inspire the princess to keep pushing him. He had a lot of other ways to scare her off but he didn’t want to traumatize her, use cuss words or say anything truly hurtful. 

‘Why is she like this?’ He wondered from under the pillow. ‘Can’t she just hate me like everyone else? My life would be so much easier if she’d just listen to her stupid freinds and stopped trying to be my friend.’ Sure, his life would also be a whole lot lonelier without Poppy’s radiant self coming to visit, but at least it would be easier.

As the grey troll pondered, the pink troll stared at him with grieve flooding her heart.

Poppy hated that nothing she did for Branch help in any way. When they were trollings, the pink troll learned that everything a normal troll would relish in were things that only served to annoy and frustrate the village grump. Hugs, games, music, parties, sweets and other stuff her people loved were things she knows were on the guy’s blacklist. So what would he enjoy?

‘Why is he like this?’ Poppy thought to herself. ‘All trolls love having fun, but he won’t even consider it. Maybe I’m doing something wrong. Or is there something missing in my plans? Or did Branch have a reason to be this way? Or was Creek right about Branch not  _ wanting  _ to be happy?’ That last thought was too disturbing.

She’s been singing happy songs that everyone likes, but what about a less popular song that most trolls opposed?

‘That’s it!’ Poppy realized as she rummaged through her hair for an instrument. ‘A less positive song should get his attention.’

Looking at her three instruments, a harmonica, kazoo and mandolin, the princess decided to use the stringed instrument since the other two would occupy her lips that she needed for singing. And deciding on the right song was easy because he already gave her the perfect choice!

The grey troll tried to relax, but then he flinched as the sound of strings being strummed. He lifted himself off of the brown fabric and turned towards the princess to politely ask her to be quiet when he heard the...questionable lyrics.

_ "Hello darkness my old friend," _

_ "I've come to talk to you again." _

Branch was completely dumbfounded by the song choice since he was ninety-nine percent sure that this wasn't on Poppy’s usual playlist but he didn't care about that. He really wanted her to stop this sad attempt to bond with him and get some sleep already.

Too bad the rest of this stupid forest didn't agree with him! The insects were quick to join in and back her up with their own unique sounds.

Humworms and chorus flies were attracted to Poppy’s voice and they hummed the melody or added to the beat by buzzing. Meanwhile, a few glowflies flew by and danced around the pink troll as the shimmy lilies began to glow and swayed to the music. It was like a private concert with pretty lights, jolly bugs, a smiley princess and a not-so-happy song.

Branch couldn’t stop staring blankly at the scene before him, even when a spider landed on his shoulder to be a backup singer and sang _ right in his ear _ .

_ “(Hello...)” _

_ "And the visions that were planted in my brain, still remain," _

_ "Within the sound of silence." _

Poppy cut the song short and allowed the plants and insects to disperse from her little performance. She learned a long time ago that pushing her luck was never a good idea when Branch was involved.

And the grey troll didn’t seem angry! He looked really confused, but not angry. In fact, he stood up with an actual smile as he approached the pink troll. Does this mean her plan actually worked? Was the solution to her problem this whole time a sad song?!

"May I borrow your mandolin?" The village grump politely asked with a sweet smile he could muster.

Poppy returned the smile and handed him one of her favorite instruments. "By all means, do whatever you want with it."

The princess watched with so much glee that she bounced on the heels of her feet. She watched the grey troll as he gently took the wooden instrument and carefully tuned it by plucking it’s strings and turning its pegs until it sounded right. She waited for him to have guts to play a track, hum a tune or maybe even sing a mellow song!

What she wasn’t expecting was for him to toss the musical tool into the fire. Gone was the smiling and Poppy watched as the flames burned the instruments with a look on her face that was beyond astounded.

"Dude… Why?"

"The fire was dying." Branch ‘justified’ as he threw in a few sticks to keep the flames going.

Poppy stomped her foot like an angry child. "It was fine without my flipping mandolin! What the heck man?!"

“You said ’do whatever you want with it’ so stop being melodramatic and go to bed.” Branch said as he went back to his sleeping bag with another unpleasant action to add to his guilt.

“But you can’t just-! What were you-?! That wasn’t even-!” Poppy groaned at not being able to form a proper sentence out of frustration and flopped back onto her makeshift bed in defeat.

‘You know what?’ Poppy thought with a sour expression. ‘Sleep sounds great right now.’

The pink troll buried herself under the covers of her wool sleeping bag and tightly closed her eyes. This time, she didn’t bother talking or getting up the rest of the night.

So much for putting the past strain behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Snack Pack is cracking under the pressure but (most) of them are sure that they’ll be saved. Also, I accidentally confused the dynamic of the twins. I thought Satin was the more dominant of the pair, but after rereading their profile on FANDOM it turns out that Chenille is the more confident one of the two, not Satin.
> 
> Chef Brawdy is only seen bullying Bridget in the movie, but I think she’s the kind of person to have multiple victims instead of just one. Like I said before, she’s a scarier version of chef Ramsey and everyone shouldn’t be terrified of her whether or not they work with her in the kitchen.
> 
> Also, I wanted to point out that everyone has a different way of speaking. Branch uses big words when he talks since he’s really smart, Poppy uses common words since she has a simple mindset, Creek speaks as sophisticatedly as possible, the twins speak with fashion terms or in union, Brawdy is manipulative towards Gristle but threatening to everyone else and so on and so forth.
> 
> Name: Biggie a.k.a. the biggest softy ever  
> Age: 22 (mentally a toddler)  
> Birthstone: Alexandrite (balance and joy)  
> Misc. Type: Pop/Giant  
> Loves: Mr. Dinkles, taking nice pictures, making his own frames, and cotton candy.  
> Hates: Mr. Dinkles in trouble, the smell of boiled broccoli, and his friends fighting.  
> Fun Fact: Both "Biggie" and "Dinkle" are slang that can refer to the size of the male reproductive organ. (Ha!)  
> Motto: "Worms are way better than trolls."


	7. A Great Loss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poppy and Branch have arrived at Bergen Town. But will their efforts be in vain when someone is lost?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are a few plot holes in the movie that were tricky to fix (and don’t get me started on World Tour ‘cause that one has more holes than emmental cheese), but after a lot of thinking thanks to quarantine and my terrible insomnia I think I have suitable fillings.
> 
> “This is regular dialogue”  
> ‘These are thoughts’  
> “Italics is singing”  
> Underlined is a flashback  
> Bold is a time or setting change  
> “Italics and underlined is a Fuzzling speaking”  
> “Italics and bold is auto-tune”  
> (Underlined and parentheses is a mini flashback)

It was early in the morning when Branch carefully shook the sleeping princess awake to continue on their journey to Bergen Town. It was so early that the sun was barely poking out of the horizon but now that Poppy has slept for a few hours, she felt a whole lot better than when she first left the village.

The pink troll was still mad at the village grump for torching her mandolin and she made it obvious as they packed their things. Poppy glared at him by comedically widening her eyelids to show the grey troll her inner rage and puffing out her cheeks to look more serious. It only served to make her look like an angry toad but Branch wasn't about to tell her that. Heck, if he wasn’t still feeling bad about last night, he would’ve teased her the rest of the day about it.

Instead he offered to carry the princess’ things since she didn’t have her backpack and her hair was becoming too full. Troll hair could hold a number of items by wrapping a few strands around the objects to keep it from falling out, but when too much stuff is placed within the colorful locks, trolls might hurt their necks from the weight or damage their hair from overdoing it.

Although she accepted his offer, she refused to let go of her silver harmonica and plastic kazoo because of trust issues involving fires.

After eating some crackers with cheese and taking a quick bathroom break, the two trolls finished packing up and got ready for the rest of their journey.

While Branch placed the retainer back on Pell-Mell’s upper jaw, Poppy quickly reached into her hair and felt the smooth surface of her precious cowbell and the drumstick tied to the handle. She’s had it on her since the morning of her birthday and has been carrying it around this whole time. It had a lot of sentimental value to it and brought her some much needed comfort but she wasn’t going to tell the grey troll about it though. At least not until she confirmed that he wouldn’t throw it away or melt it down like that loon he could be at times.

The princess and village grump mounted Pell-Mell and prepared for liftoff. Poppy wrapped her arms around the grey troll’s torso when the insect ascended and held on tight as the survivalist revved the flyer bug by throttling the handlebars.

As angry as the princess was, she didn’t want the whole trip to be silent so she decided to be the one to break the ice. Again. She wished Branch would be the one to start a conversation for once but oh well.

“I didn’t know you had your own flyer bug.” She was very curious about the origin story of Pell-Mell but the survivalist was most likely going to save that story for another time.

“You never asked and I wouldn’t have told you anyways. And no, I’m not going to tell you about it now.”

‘Called it!’ Poppy thought before responding. “Some things don’t just randomly pop up in conversions. You gotta sneak it in like broccoli in brownies for kids. Or lead into it like trying to figure out what someone wants for their birthday.”

“You’re not good at being sneaky. You’re the exact opposite of the word ‘slick’. And being born into royalty means you have authority over everyone, remember? Can’t you just order them to tell you what you want to know and be done with it? No need for dragging it out.”

“I could but I won’t.” Poppy clarified with a sober tone she rarely has. “As the princess, I have to have everyone’s trust but I refuse to use force and turn their trust into fear. I’d rather be nice so I can be a good influence on my people.”

"You're already a  _ great  _ influence. I’m sure little girls are gonna grow up to just as giddy as you one day." Branch said with a thick layer of sarcasm as he steered the flyer bug.

"Thank you." Poppy smiled, unaware of the not-so-subtle jeer. "Being the future queen means I have to be on my A-game."

"Yup. You sure are a royal."

"Thanks!"

"A royal pain in the butt.” He said with a hint of amusement in his voice.

Poppy was not amused in the slightest. "Why you gotta do me like that?"

He stiffened a laugh. “If we’re talking about being crafty in conversations, then you should learn how to read between the lines.” Branch advised as he reached into his pants pocket with one hand to grab his compass. He checked on it every hour to make sure they were still on the right course to Bergen Town.

“Why should I?” Poppy asked as she spotted a cute family of ducks in a river.

“Sometimes people say one thing but mean something else. It’s important that you can tell the difference.” Branch said, recalling all the times he felt indignant towards the citizens of Pop Village. But at least it helped him hone the skill of interpreting the true meaning of a person’s words.

“Isn’t that like lying?”

“It’s more like solving a riddle or deciphering a code.” Branch clarified as he placed his compass back in his pocket. “Tone of voice, facial expressions and body language can give away what the words are hiding. And sometimes even when you still don’t fully understand, you can still... _ feel _ the scorn, ya know?”  


Although Poppy didn’t see the point in ‘deciphering’ someone’s words and had no idea what he meant by ‘feeling scorn’, she kept his guidance in mind. It might be one of those things that Branch was right about.

“Are we there yet?”

“No but we’re close. And if you even think about asking again I’ll stuff you in a sack full of flour.”

Poppy giggled at his drama. “Sorry, I just really miss my friends. I can’t wait to see them again and get back home.”

“How can you be so sure all of your friends are still alive?” Branch asked, wanting to know how she managed being sanguine.

“I'm not sure but...l have hope.” Poppy she must sound stupid to the survivalist, but her heart was saying that the rest of the Snack Pack were alive and she trusted her heart more than anything else in the world.

“Oh gawd... ” Branch rubbed the side of his temple in exhaustion. “You’re unbelievable.”

As much as her endless optimism tired the grey troll, part of him was concerned for the princess and what might happen if even one of her friends were currently dead. Would she go into denial? Would she have a nervous breakdown? Could she continue with the rescue mission or be too busy grieving? Would she be okay afterwards? Could she recover from the loss?

Either way, the village grump was going to do everything in his power to rescue whoever was left and take them straight to his bunker.

“Speaking of being unbelievable, I’m gonna throw a party after we find another place to call home. It’ll be an apology/housewarming party to help everyone calm down. And as always, you’re invited too! Will you come?”

“No thanks. If we make it out of this alive, I’ll have a lot of critical stuff to do.” Branch answered in a monotone that shows how accustomed he was to the question.

“Dang it...” Poppy moaned in disappointment.

The princess felt responsible for the lone troll since he was one of her many subjects. As the leaders of the trolls, it was Poppy’s job to make sure her people were living their best life, but Branch was a special case since he’s been grey for a long time and is impossible to persuade.

No one knew why the village grump was so dedicated to his work to the point of obsession and almost everyone has given up on trying to understand him. But those who did know and understand wouldn’t share that information for unknown reasons. The elderly and older adults who knew Branch when he was a trolling always said the same thing: ‘only Branch can tell you but he’ll never reveal anything’.

Poppy thought they were exaggerating at first but  _ holy cow _ were they right!

After reading some books on troll anatomy and questioning a few doctors and psychologists, she now knows that it takes a large amount of pain for someone to turn grey. The only known cure for grayness is for the person to recover from their trauma and embrace their inner happiness but it has to be by that person’s own choosing and couldn’t be forced.

She couldn’t help but wonder what it’s like to suffer alone the way Branch has. Was his pride keeping him from asking for help? Did he not trust her or her trolls? Does his greyness affect him not just physically, but mentally and emotionally too?

The princess had an endless amount of questions but zero answers. Does that mean she’s going to give up? Not even a little.  


Branch is a tight lipped and mysterious guy, but he was still a good person at heart no matter what others might say.

She’s not stupid. She knows that her people don’t like the village grump very much, but the princess was one hundred percent sure that a bit of convincing can get them to see what she sees in her grey buddy. Poppy knew that deep down, beneath the colorless skin and grouchy attitude was a kind and joyful person that deserved to be happy.

A few months after meeting the elusive grey troll, the princess made time for him on a regular basis. Poppy would sneak away and sometimes the adults would give her ‘warnings’ but she ignored them in favor of hanging out with Branch. But one day, she was in a bad mood because she lost at a game of capture the flag. After failing to win too many times, she was beginning to feel upset so the pink troll excused herself from the game and went looking for her lonely friend(?).

The grey boy noticed how quiet and troubled the pink girl was, so he became dead set on finding out what the problem was to see if there was anything he could do to help. While she sulked under a mushroom, Branch talked about things he didn’t like and why he felt that way. The plan was to see if the thought of things the girl hated would push her into voicing what was wrong.

It didn’t take long for Poppy to break since the likelihood of the village grump talking to her like this again was low and joined in his discussion about things they didn’t like. And soon enough, she began ranting about her time playing capture the flag for a full five minutes and how unfair it was that she kept losing. Twelve whole rounds and she didn’t win or even come close to winning!

The young survivalist helped her feel better by advising the pink girl to enjoy herself even when she loses and to practice if she was truly bent on winning. These small but handy pointers inspired Poppy to stop whining about fairness and work hard to reach her goals instead. His words still affect her to this day.

But what made that day so memorable was that before she went back home, Branch gave the princess a smile. It was the tiniest smile she’s ever seen on a troll but it was real and it was just for her.

Can he be disrespectful and brash? Yes but that wasn’t the point of all of this. The point was that Branch  _ can  _ be sweet and warm but chooses not to.

“When we get there, don’t run off or make loud noises.” He instructed the pink troll, snapping her out of her train of thoughts. “We’re likely to die today but I’d rather it not be so soon.”

“Why do you have to be so negative?” Poppy asked as she laid her chin on his right shoulder. “Creek says that negativity can damage your soul.”

“I’m not negative, I’m realistic.” Branch corrected. “It’s not my fault the truth is ugly.”

“But what’s the point in thinking that way if it makes you a stick in the mud? It might be the reason you have those wrinkles.” The princess stated as she pointed at the premature folds on the corner of the village grump’s eyes.

“First of all,  _ thank you so much  _ for mentioning my crow’s feet. I’m totally not insecure about them.“ Actually, he was very insecure about his wrinkles since they’re from stress instead of age and trolls have drawn attention to them before. “Second, the ‘point’ is that it keeps people from making stupid mistakes. Like, ya know, stopping people from throwing crazy parties that attract bergens?”

When the princess became quiet, Branch feared that he may have crossed a line. If anything, he stomped on that line without a shred of mercy!

‘Idiot!’ The grey troll firmly lectured himself. ‘She probably blames herself for this, you don’t have to rub salt in the wound you dimwit!’

But Poppy wasn’t insulted. Well, that comment did sting a little but that wasn’t why she went silent. For some reason, the village grump talking about her party made her brain itchy. It was as if she was trying to remind herself of something important. And whatever it was, it involved Branch and her party. Which was beyond weird because the only times the words ‘Branch’ and ‘party’ were in the same sentence was when ‘hates’ or ‘would never go to a’ were between them.

Hold on a pancake flipping minute… That's' it!

“That reminds me!” Poppy shouted, causing her pilot to recoil from having a screaming troll so close to him. “Thank you for coming.”

The survivalist rolled his eyes. “I told you to stop that. I was going to follow you anyways.”

“Not to Bergen Town you dope.”

Branch turned his head slightly to the right so he could make eye contact with the pink troll and show her how confused he was.

“Thanks for coming to my birthday party/coronation ceremony.” The princess chuckled when the confusion turned into realization as it finally dawned on the grey troll what she meant.  


“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Branch quickly denied as he faced a different direction.

Poppy smirked and shook her head. “Stop lying. I saw you up in that tree right before you left.”

“I was never there.” Branch fibbed. “You must be thinking of someone else.”

“Someone else with grey skin that would hide from others and leave halfway through a party?”

“Yup.”

“Well whoever that was, I’m glad he came.” Poppy spoke sincerely. “Seeing him there made me really really happy.”

Branch’s grip on the handles was so tight that his knuckles turned a lighter hue from the pink troll’s kind words. No one but Poppy could say such a thing about him and mean it with all her heart.

“Too bad it wasn’t you.” The princess jokes. “Now  _ that  _ would've been a dream come true.”

The village grump had a hint of a smile on the left side of his face, where Poppy couldn’t see it. “Keep dreaming.”

It wasn’t long before a shadowy town with giant buildings and a stone wall surrounding it came into view. Branch landed his flyer bug by the entrance of the historical tunnel that saved so many lives and jumped off the insect to walk the rest of the way.

“Why aren’t we riding Pell-Mell to Bergen Town?” Asked the princess as she got off of the bug’s dark.

“Because I don’t know what that place is like and I won’t risk us getting caught if they have bug traps or zero places to hide. Pell-Mell can’t carry more than three average sized trolls so bringing him wouldn’t be a great idea anyways. And don’t forget that if we’re going to leave together we need to find a clear path from their location to the Troll Tree, so it’s better if we go on foot.” Branch explained thoroughly as he took his backpack from the flyer bug.

Poppy couldn’t argue with his logic. “Gotcha.”

Branch kneeled down in front of the flyer bug. “Go back to your stable. I’ll give you an extra large maple berry when I get back.”

Then the pink troll gave the insect a kiss on the head. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll make you the best cake ever when we get home.”

Pell-Mell had the biggest smile on his face and wished them luck before he flew away.

The princess and survivalist approached the entrance of the elusive tunnels and noticed a big problem with their plan. Instead of a single tunnel that led to the Troll Tree, there were multiple paths inside that went who-knows-where.

“That’s not good...” The village grump muttered.

“No it’s not!” The pink troll shouted, causing an echo. “Please tell me you know which way leads into Bergen Town?”

The grey troll shook his head to confirm her fears. “Nuh uh. The original tunnel was one way but now it’s like an abandoned subworm station. We’re gonna have to wing it and pick a path.”

"What if we spend all day going the wrong way?" The princess usually didn’t question a troll’s ideas like this but there was a time limit on their adventure and she didn’t want to waste it running around in circles!

Branch took a second to think. It looks like he was right about animals making a new tunnel, but he didn’t think it would end up being turned into a scaled-down labyrinth. Maybe they can use some of Poppy's useless supplies to leave a trail of some sort. Or he could get some string-like material and use it as a safe line since he couldn’t waste the rope on-

"I’ll help ya if you ask nicely." Said a slothful voice.

"Who's there?!" Branch demanded as he placed himself in front of Poppy.

"Up here."

Looking up at the top of the tunnel’s entrance was a white creature sitting on the ledge above them, swinging his thin legs with a goofy/serene smile. It was a fluffy cloud person with a plain face, ocean blue eyes, purple noodle limbs and only wore a pair of white knee high socks. Just socks. No shoes whatsoever. What in the heck was that all about?

"Hi, I'm Cloud Guy." He introduced himself. “Now it’s your turn.”

"Hi Cloud Guy!" Poppy greeted her newest friend. "My name's Princess Poppy and this is Branch."

"Nice ta meetcha." He said as he shot her with his finger guns. "So you guys wanna go to Bergen Town?"

"That’s absolutely true. My friends are in trouble and we have to get there before it's too late."

"Poppy, stop!" Branch grabbed the pink troll’s forearms and pulled her away from the stranger. "You can't tell him about that. We don't know him and he could be trouble."

"I promise I’m not here ta hurt anyone.” The cloud said in his defense, not at all trying to hide that he was eavesdropping. “I'm a regular ol’ catterbus driver. I like using these tunnels as sweet shortcuts to avoid those nasty bergens. And the little lady's right, it'll take all day for ya to figure out which one leads into town unless you guys are a pair of lucky leprechauns."

"Really?" Branch didn’t want to ask a person he’s never met before for help, but they may not have a choice.

"Really real my man." The walking cloud said as he hopped down the stump. “I know these bad boys like the back of my hand and some of them lead to  _ certain death _ ! I could guide ya if you want but it’s gonna cost ya.”  


The grey troll should’ve known there was a catch. "What do you want?"

"Depends..." Cloud Guy rubs his hands in anticipation. “Whatcha got?”

As Branch rubbed his chin in thought and tried to think of something this cloud might like. He had some tools that may interest him or a jar of rations to trade but he may need them later. But before he could offer anything, Poppy beat him to the punch.

"I’ve got a kazoo you can have if you help us." The princess offered as she pulled out the yellow instrument from her hair.

Branch sighed at the dissatisfying proposal that obviously wasn’t going to work. I mean, who would want a used mouthpiece from an unknown person?

“Free kazoo?! It’s a done dealio!”

Apparently the answer was an unhygienic cloud person.

The pink troll handed him the instrument and Cloud Guy blew into it to test it out. Since it was Poppy’s and she took great care of her favorite items, the kazoo was in perfect condition.

“If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you straight to the town of suckiness.” The cloud instructed as he casually strolled into the tunnels. “The key to going to and from Bergen Town is to keep going straight.”

“Come on.” Poppy said as she took Branch’s wrist and dragged him into the hole with many twists and turns inside. It would’ve been unsettling to walk around in these abandoned burrows, but Cloud Guy was playing a song with that stupid kazoo and it was bouncing off the walls of the tunnels.

The grey troll could already feel the migraine forming in his head. “I regret this already...”

**8 minutes later**

Yup. Branch was definitely going to kill this obnoxious guy. Ever since they entered the burrows, the white creature hasn’t stopped blowing air into the kazoo and making ear slitting sounds.

Poppy was having a wonderful time helping Cloud Guy with his ‘song’ but the village grump was near his limit. If this agonizingly bad excuse for music didn’t end soon, the grey troll was going to shank the walking cloud with a pointy stick and-

“We have arrived at our destination!” The cloud announced, finally putting an end to the horribly bad humming.

The princess and village grump climbed out of the diagonal tunnel that was different from the dirt they walked on and found themselves at the very top of a dead tree.

“This is it.” Branch confirmed with an unexpected sense of dread. “This is the Troll Tree.”

“Thanks for the help Cloud Guy.” Poppy said as she hugged the cloud-like being. “I’m definitely inviting you to future parties.”

“Noice! I’ll pass by your place after this, kay? But if you need me, I’ll be right where ya found me at the other end of the tunnel.” 

“You got it!” Poppy gave the fluffy creature a high five.

“Later guys!” With that, Cloud Guy jumped down the hole and continued to make unpleasant sounds with the kazoo.

The princess and survivalist took a minute to look around before taking the next steps of their rescue mission. The buildings were made of brick or stone, the roads were plain dirty or hard concrete and there was no animal or plant life anywhere. If it weren't for the bergens in the streets, the two trolls would have thought that this place was uninhabited.

"Woah... I never thought a place like this could exist." The pink troll commented, unnerved by the cold atmosphere of this giant civilization.

"That's Bergen Town for ya." Branch said as he glared at the ugly beings. "It's as repulsive as the monsters who built it."

The princess looked towards the grey troll and noticed how stiff he was. Poppy put a hand on Branch’s shoulder and was surprised to feel him shaking ever so slightly. And that’s when it hit her. Of course he’s scared! How could the princess forget that Branch was terrified of bergens and was now surrounded by them?

“Do you need a minute?” Poppy asked softly, ready to do anything and everything possible to comfort her (kinda) friend.

“I’m fine.” The grey troll assured as he shook off his nerves. “Just stay close and don’t do anything hasty.”

“I promise I’ll listen to every single word you say. You’re taking the lead now and I won’t do anything you wouldn’t do.”  


Branch knew that the princess was a woman of her word, so he trusted that a promise was all he needed to ensure her attention.

"Where should we start looking?" The pink troll asked as she looked around for her friends.

"The castle." Branch stated as he took out a pair of binoculars from his bag. "If the bergen you saw wants to get rich off of trolls, it would take them to whoever's in charge."

"But where's the castle?"

Branch gently pushed Poppy's face a little to the left and she spotted the largest building with towers, a drawbridge and guards by every entrance.

"There it is!"

"Good job." He congratulated sarcastically as he reached into his backpack and tossed a piece of cloth at the chirpy girl. “Now put this on.”

“Why?” The princess caught it mid-air and realized that it was a baggy, charcoal grey cloak with long sleeves and a hoodie.

“Look at yourself.” Branch said as he inspected the girl’s shining colors and bright cloth. “Your pinkness is going to catch a bergen’s eye. Especially in a place like this.”

Said pink troll understood his reasoning so she reluctantly put on the cloak and redid her hair so it was in a tight bun to help keep the fuchsia locks under the hood.

“How do I look?” She asked with a twirl.

“Not as noticeable.”

The grey troll removed his backpack and took out the most useful items inside before hiding the brown bag under a rotting twig. He couldn’t risk the extra weight slowing him down or making noise, so he was only going to take his bow and arrows, a first aid kit, the rope and other equipment that he’ll likely need. The rest of it would have to stay here until they came back to leave town.

“What’re you doing?”

“Looking for a safe route.” Branch said as he looked through his binoculars and searched for a way to travel through Bergen Town without being seen.

“Can I help?”

“No thanks. Just give me time to work something out.”

Poppy gave him some space by getting some of her stuff from his bag and using her time to add new pages to the scrapbook while Branch came up with a plan. She decided to make tiny felt versions of everyone she knew to pass the time and started with her best friends.

As the princess kept herself busy, the village grump looked high and low for a way through the large town.

Branch wanted Poppy to stay somewhere safe while he rescued her friends, but he needed her for all of this to work. He knew there was a change that the Snack Pack might ignore his orders or argue with his ideas once he found them. But if the princess was with him, they would listen to him thanks to her presence.

The grey troll looked around the tree and noticed three important things.

One, the cage that once engulfed the tree had many gaps that any troll could fit through. Two, there was a thick rope attached to one of the branches that connected it to the roof of a shop to hold up a banner that said ‘CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELVES!’. And three, there were only five bergens outside at the moment and they were all looking downwards.

This shouldn’t be too hard. Branch rolled up his sleeves and approached the girl from behind to spell out his plan to her. But before he got her attention, he peered over her shoulder to see what the princess had been working on.

He was not the least bit surprised at the sight of her scrapbooking smaller versions of her subjects being blissful. But what he easily noticed was that the felt Poppy was holding hands with a figure made out of grey fabric that stood out like a sore thumb against the other colors glued together. Poppy was the only troll in the entire forest who owned grey and black scrapbook material and it was all used to make tiny felt Branches.

Real Branch could ponder over that some other time. He had an important mission to focus on and a plan that the pink troll needed to hear.

“Listen up.” Branch said, snapping the girl out of her craft. “We’re gonna play a game.”

“A game?  _ Right now _ ?” The princess was baffled like no tomorrow. Since when did the village grump play games?

“Yes, so pay attention. Do you remember the rules of ‘red light green light’?”

“This isn’t the time for games! And that’s saying a lot coming from me.”

“Just answer the stupid question.”

The pink troll groaned but complied. “A few kids go behind a line while one of them faces the other way to be the ‘light bulb’. The light bulb has to say ‘green light’ so his friends can move and ‘red light’ to freeze them. Anyone caught moving on red light is out and the first kid to touch the light bulb wins.”

“Good ‘cause we’re going to do something like that.”

“Hu?”

Branch stands up and leads her to where the cord was secured.

“We’re going to walk across the rope to get to that shop over there. I’ll go first and I want you to pay attention to what I’m doing, okay? Once I’m on the other side, I’m going to be the ‘light bulb’.”

“Okay, but why the game?”

Branch pointed to the few bergens walking around. “I don’t want to risk any of them spotting us so I’m gonna tell you to stop if a bergen is passing by and when to go when they’re gone. But instead of words, I’m going to use hand gestures to stay hidden. Whatever you do, don’t look down and keep your eyes on me.”

“Gotcha.” Poppy said as she and the grey troll climbed down the tree until they reached the twig with the rope tied to it.

The survivalist carefully climbed onto the rope and treaded lightly as he made his way to the other end.

Poppy watched in astonishment as her guide outstretched his arms to keep his balance and put one foot in front of the other. She could see him watching every step he took while glancing around for any signs of danger and still keeping perfect stability.

Branch was truly an amazing person. The things he’s done and could do were like nothing the princess has seen before. It was hard to believe that they were the same height when his actions made him feel like a much bigger and grander person.

It took the survivalist a full minute to safely get to the other side and land on the shop’s roof. The princess saw him give her a thumbs up and motioned her to begin.

Poppy pulled herself onto the knot and carefully placed one foot in front of the other. She kept her eyes on the grey troll as he made the ‘come here’ signal by waving his hands towards himself.

Every once in a while the pink troll would look down to make sure she was walking in a straight line since drifting in a different direction can happen when you’re not paying attention to your movements. But then she noted how far off the ground she was. If Poppy fell, she wouldn’t be able to use her hair to save herself since it was a bun right now and even if she could, a bergen would catch sight of her and gobble her up.

When the survivalist made the ‘stop’ sign extending his hand out, the princess immediately froze and stared at the hand for the signal to keep moving. Branch was gazing at whoever or whatever was below her and the suspension was killing her!  


It didn’t take long for the grey troll to motion for the pink girl to keep moving, but her steps were wobbly now that she realized how dangerous this is. But she relaxed at the thought that she had nothing to worry about because there was someone here who would save her if anything went wrong.

Once she was finally on the other side, Poppy jumped from the rope to the head of a large nail sticking out of a brick. Then she hopped off the cold metal and into the arms of Branch, who didn’t hesitate to catch her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, heart thumping rapidly against her ribs as she let out a breath that the princess didn’t know she had been holding until now.

Poppy giggled shakily and whispered, “I can’t believe we did that!”

“You did great.” Branch replied as he gently pried the girl’s arms off of his person.

“What now?”

“Now we head for the castle and come back here with your friends.”

“I’m not sure Cooper and Biggie can walk on a tightrope.” The pink troll knew that both trolls were too big for the rope and weren’t good at keeping their balance.

“Don’t worry, I already have a plan for that.” Branch said as he spotted a suitable place to hide the rope he’s been carrying along with a single arrow. When they returned, the survivalist was going to shoot a line into the tree and use the thinner rope to zipline back to the tunnels.

Once he was done placing an arrow and the rope under a glass bottle leaning against a rock, the survivalist and princess went on their way to their missing trolls.

This was the start of a long trip from the dead Troll Tree to the massive palace.

**A few hours later by the castle**

It was around noon when the two trolls finally arrived at the large structure. It took a lot of storm drain climbing, makeshift bridge crossing and sliding down pipes but they finally made it to the castle.

The princess spotted an open window away from a bergen’s view and not too far off the ground. The village grump tied a vine growing off the side of the walls to the end of one of his arrows and fired it at the window frame. With a few tugs to confirm that it was security, Poppy and Branch scaled the vine and stood on the sill.

The inside of the stone building was a lot nicer than they expected. They were in a long hallway with giant paintings of bergens in fancy clothing, a red carpet on the floor with beautiful stitching and servants running around to do their share of the labor. These bergens were a lot more active than the ones the village grump and princess spotted near the Troll Tree and there were three times as many in this single hallway. That was going to be a problem.

“Stay close.” The grey troll muttered to the princess and received a thumbs up in return.

The two trolls jumped off the sill and hid under the lower slate of a console table. They watched as the large creatures cleaned every nook and crevice until it was completely spotless. Looking around, there were two choices on which direction they should go but they felt indecisive on whether to start their search to the left or the right. This place was gigantic and full of busy bergens. It could take the pair days to sneak around and find the Snack Pack.

“Widget!!”

Both trolls took a few steps back and stayed put until it was safe to move forward. The only thing they could see was a pair of feet moving in on a shorter bergen that was sweeping dirt off of the rug.

“Yes chef?” Answered a timid voice.

“I want you to hide these trolls in your room until I say otherwise. They’re distracting my cooks and I don’t want those fools losing focus or trying to snatch one of my integrals.”

“Of course chef.” The maid agreed as she leaned the broom against the wall and took the cage in her hands.

“And I’ve counted them so if I find even a single one missing I’ll hand your butt over to the king on a silver platter!”

“Y-yes chef!”

Poppy and Branch took a look upwards when the word ‘trolls’ was spoken and saw a short bergen wearing a maids uniform holding what appeared to be a bird cage wrapped in a towel. They didn’t hesitate to follow that beregn in the pink uniform to wherever she was taking the Snack Pack.

The two trolls tailed the smaller bergen as she escorted the portable prison to a closet. But it wasn’t a regular closet full of cleaning supplies and extra napkins. This closet had been renovated into a small bedroom for Bridget a long time ago because she’s worked in the castle ever since she was a kid. There was a bed, a few tables, a lamp, a wardrobe and everything else a working girl needs.

The pink and grey troll hid behind the opened door and observed the maid as she placed the small prison on a table by the window. The table had clean dishes on one side, dirty dishes on the other and a couple of personal items scattered around but there was enough space in the center for the imprisoned trolls.

Once the enclosure was settled into place, Bridget got the stack of dirty dishes and left her room to clean the last few plates and cups.

The second the door was closed behind the bergen, Poppy and Branch sprinted towards the table where the cage sat, climbed up one of the legs and the pink troll ripped the cloth off to reveal all of her friends alive and together!

"Poppy!" The imprisoned trolls cheered at the sight of their princess.

The pink troll grabbed onto the bars and did a quick headcount to make sure everyone was here. ‘Biggie? Check! Smidge? Check! Cooper? Checkity check! The twins? Double check!’

Her mental roll call was interrupted when felt someone touch her hand and she looked up to see her favorite Guru troll smiling at her with pure solace on his face.

"I knew you'd come for us." The sound of Creek uttering his mellow words made Poppy’s heart jump into her throat.

Branch was also checking out the group to make sure no one was injured. He may not have believed that they were all alive, but he was glad that Poppy was right this time. All nine trolls that were taken are in one place and unharmed. The Snack Pack was a bit shaken and messy, but they were overall in good health.

“Are you okay?” Guy Diamond asked worriedly.

“What’re you wearing?” Satin asked as her twin cringed at the tacky cloak.

“This place is totally bananas!” Cooper hollered.

“Thanks for coming.” Biggie thanked her as a wave of ease washed over him.

Then the ten of them began to chat amongst themselves about how they are, almost forgetting about the situation they were currently in. It’s a good thing there was someone there to be their voice of reason.

“Be quiet!” The grey troll warned as quietly as he could. “We’re not out of the woods yet, so keep it down.”

“Branch?!” The Snack Pack roared, completely ignoring the grey troll as he tried to shush them.

None of them noticed that the village grump was there until he spoke and the sight of him here in Bergen Town with Poppy confused the hair off of them. Why was he here instead of in his ‘super secret safe and secure’ bunker that he always bragged about?

Poppy didn’t acknowledge the shock her friends were in. “Can you get them out?” She asked the survivalist.

“Of course I can.” Branch stated as he grabbed his lock picking kit from his hair. “Stand back.”

The pink troll stepped away from the giant lock to allow the survivalist to take a knee and focus on the task at hand. The grey troll’s warning didn’t stop the group of friends from babbling away as if their lives weren’t in danger. The Snack Pack were reunited with their leader and they had a lot of say and there was a chance that they won’t be able to say it again.

“How’re you guys feeling?” Poppy asked, noticing the miserable state her besties were in.

“We’re hungry but we can break for lunch after we leave.” Smidge said as her empty stomach gurgled for food.

“My shoulder hurt from all the swinging.” The Glitter troll stated as he rolled his right arm that hit the bars too hard. “I need to see a doctor after this.”

“I have to get Mr. Dinkles to a therapist when we get back home.” The Giant troll said as he cradled his still worm.  
  


“Hey, where’s everyone else?” Cooper asked as the caged Snack Pack members looked around the small room, expecting the rest of the trolls to be hiding and waiting for their queen to confirm it was safe to come out.

Poppy looked to the survivalist for some help, but he shrugged his shoulders and gave her a look that said ‘sorry but you’re on your own ‘cause I don’t know what to do either’. The pink troll knew she had to tell them the truth about their people being too scared to come, but wouldn’t her friends be heartbroken to hear that she and Branch were the only ones that volunteered to their rescue?

After thinking things over, the princess finally made her decision and did something she would normally never do to her closest friends.

“I...ordered them to stay behind.” Poppy  _ lied _ . “This is all my fault and I don’t want to risk anyone else getting hurt because of me. I’m sorry...”

While Creek, Smidge, Satin and DJ Suki could tell she was hiding something, the others mistook her guilt from lying with the guilt of not bringing backup.

“Hey, don’t worry about it.” The giant troll comforted.

Chenille gave the pink troll a comforting smile. “Yeah, at least they’re safe.”

_ “It was a tough call but you did the right thing.” _ Fuzzbert reassured.

“How are they?” Suki asked, still suspecting something fishy going on but more worried about her family to ponder over it.

“Everyone’s okay. I found an awesome place for them to hide until we came back.” Poppy said as she sent the grey troll a smile full of recognition.

“What about you? Are you okay?” The silver troll asked again. “You look kinda...”

“Wrecked.” The twins said in union.

Looking herself over the princess noticed the grubby state she was in. From underneath the cloak Poppy could see her cute outfit was completely soiled, there were sweat stains in a few places and she had dark circles under her eyes.

“I’m perfectly fine.” Poppy assured her friends with a big smile. “What about you guys? What’s Bergen Town like?”

“This place sucks!” Cooper complained.

“And Brawdy is downright terrifying.” DJ added.

Poppy tilted her head at the odd name. “Who?”

_ “That bergen that took us.” _ The fuzzy troll explained.  _ “Her name is Brawdy and she’s King Gristle’s head chef.” _

“She’s a real piece of work. We tried talking to her but she wouldn’t even hear us out!” Guy grumbled.

“And that’s not even the worse part!” Chenille shouted in a hurry to tell the pink troll what they've learned.

“Yeah! Everything here is either bland, dirty or both.” Satin said in disgust.

“But what about the whole-”

“Especially the bergens.” Smidge commented while cutting off the lavender troll.

“These beings are so sad and pitiful.” Creek stated with a shake of the head. Then he looked towards the grey troll with a knowing smirk and whispered his catty remark. ”Kind of like you.”

Branch glared at the guru and frowned at the insult. Of course this pompous jerk would take the time to taunt him and compare him to a bergen of all things.

Since Creek is one of very few Guru trolls in the village, people took everything he said and did with cognizance. Because of that, the purple troll grew up being praised and acknowledged nonstop so now he’s spoiled to the point where Creek thinks he’s some kind of sacred fountain of wisdom. And since the oh so wise guru said that the village grump was a danger to others and a bad omen, a lot of trolls believed him.

Well, all but a handful of trolls he knew thought otherwise and one of them was looking at the clashing duo with awareness in her pink eyes.

Unknowing to the grey and purple troll, Poppy heard that little comment and understood the unkind meaning of it. Usually she didn’t hear these remarks, but when she did the princess would either reason that she misheard the guru or that it was meant to be a harmless joke.

But after listening to the ridicule in his voice, seeing the smugness on his face, watching the guru literally look down upon the kneeling troll and reading between the lines of his words, the princess could hear what he was truly saying. Instead of Creek making an innocent observation, it sounded like a jab at Branch’s greyness.

“Hey Creek?” Poppy called out, not understanding why the guru would suddenly be so mean spirited. “That’s not a very nice thing to say.”

The purple troll simply shrugged and gave her a honeyed grin. “Sorry love, it was a slip of the tongue.”

He may have apologized, but Poppy didn’t like how unashamed the guru was of his actions. Since when did Creek purposely agitate people like that? And why weren’t the rest of her friends as stunned as she was by his abnormal behavior?

“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.” The pink troll gently stated as she walked up to Branch. Now that she stood by the survivalist, she waited patiently for her crush to pardon himself for what he said earlier.

The trolls in the cage stared at Creek to see what he would do next since none of them have ever been caught teasing Branch before. The purple troll had to keep himself from flinching from the shock of the princess herself hinting that he must ask for forgiveness from the village grump. But being the sensible man that he is, the guru clutched his hands together in the Ganesha mudra and did what needed to be done.

“Branch, please accept my apology for what I said. I should’ve regarded your feeling before speaking and remembered that you don’t have a well developed sense of humor. Can you ever forgive me?” Creek announced as genuinely as possible.

“Nope. Apology  _ not  _ accepted.” Branch replied bitterly. “Just let me work in peace.”

“Welp, I tried mates. You know how he can be.” Creek declared to the rest of the imprisoned trolls who agreed with their friend.

Poppy sighed tiredly, wishing that the grey troll had been more lenient but chose to deal with that later. “How much longer until you’re done?”

“I’ve never picked a lock this big before but it should be much-” Then he suddenly went stiff and turned his head so his ear was facing the closed door.

Poppy didn't like the way Branch’s face went from attentive to alarmed. “What’s wrong?”

The village grump didn’t answer. Instead, he continued to listen for something that could be a threat to them. Then, he plunged his tools back in his hair and grabbed the princess’ hand.

“Hide!” He answered vaguely as he dashed towards the stack of clean plates to hide behind.

Before Poppy or her friends could ask what the problem was, they heard the sound of footsteps approaching and saw a shadow under the doorway. When the door was opened, the maid from earlier entered the room while drying her wet hands on her apron.

As she closed the door behind her, she climbed onto her bed and moved the purple curtains behind her headrest that hid posters and pictures of King Gristle Jr. tapped all over that small section of the wall.

She held onto a small picture of the king sitting on his throne with the best smile he could muster. It was obviously a forced and empty grin, but it was the effort he put into it that made the maid smile too. But the smile didn’t stay for long. Seeing King Gristle quietly suffering on the inside and not being able to do a thing about it broke Bridget’s heart.

_ “Hello?” _

_ “Is it me you're looking for?” _

_ “I can see it in your eyes,” _

_ “I can see it in your smile.” _

_ “Your all I’ve ever wanted,” _

_ “And my arms are open wide.” _

_ “Cause you know just what to say,” _

_ “And you know just what to do.” _

_ “And I want to tell you so much,” _

__ “I love you...”  
  


As the small bergen closed the drapes with a regretful sigh and stepped off her mattress, the princess came to an incredible conclusion. For one, this girl had a great set of pipes on her! Poppy really wanted to sing a duvet with her sometime in the future (if that were possible). But more importantly, this maid had romantic feelings for the king!

__

“She’s in love...” Poppy muttered in astonishment. “That bergen’s in love with the king.”

__

“Bergens don’t love. The only reason they get married is so they can reproduce, not because they have actual feelings for each other.” The grey troll didn’t know whether or not this was true, but he bet it was since these were a bunch of emotionless monsters.

__

STOMP! STOMP! STOMP! STOMP! STOMP!  **STOMP** !

__

At the sound of feet quickly approaching, Branch swept the pink troll off her feet and held her bridal style before leaping off the corner of the table to hide behind the wooden leg. He didn’t know if it was his instinct or something entirely different, but he had a strong feeling that they needed a better hiding spot that wasn’t on the table.

__

The door swung open with so much force that it shook the thick layer of dust off the walls and ceiling. Below the frame was none other than chef Brawdy herself with an unpleasant grin across her face.

__

Branch's entire body froze when he saw the bergen that entered the room.

__

It was  _ her _ . The behemoth from so long ago!

__

“That must be Brawdy.” Poppy said as quietly as possible, not noticing Branch’s inner turmoil. “She’s the bergen who crashed my party.”

__

“Get back to work Diget!” The head chef order, making the smaller girl scurry out of the room.

__

After Bridget left, the newly appointed chef used her copper key to unlock the cage and she reached inside to get a sample of the product. The confined trolls ran around in a panic, attempting to avoid the bergen’s grotesque hand.

__

After hearing her friends screaming in terror, Poppy decided that she had to help them!

__

Branch watched as the princess began to walk out of their hiding spot and open her mouth to likely shout something to the chef. Knowing she was going to do something stupid, he quickly covered Poppy’s mouth with one hand and wrapped his other arm around her middle before she could do anything. If she tried to stop that bergen, she would fail miserably and get caught in the process.

__

“What do you think you’re doing?!” The grey troll whispered harshly in her ear. “Showing yourself will only make things a lot harder for all of us!”

__

The princess moved his grey hand out of the way and reluctantly stayed still. “We can’t just let her hurt them!” She whispered/yelled back.

__

The village grump knew she was right but they couldn’t do anything without messing up the rescue mission. If he attacked this bergen, it could easily stop him without breaking a sweat. He had a few ideas that could work, but anything he did would cause the bergens outside to notice something happening here and come in to investigate.

__

Poppy and her friends gasped as they watched Brawdy leave the room with her fingers wrapped around a screaming guru.

__

As Chef Brawdy walked out of the room with Creek, not bothering to close the door behind her. Meanwhile, the Snack Pack were doing their best to break free and help the purple troll while Branch tried to brainstorm a miracle of a plan in record time. But Princess Poppy didn’t want to wait any longer, so she ran after the bergens while ignoring the cries of her friends and Branch’s orders.

__

The survivalist groaned in the back of his throat with deep irritation and ran after the crazed girl before she got herself killed.

__

Once the pink troll was out of the room, she zipped to the hall, scurried under furniture and went after Creek before anything bad could happen to him.

__

Seeing a set of curtains close by, the princess climbed up the royal blue fabric to get a view of her surroundings and found that evil bergen walking towards the dining room. The village grump was not too far away, ready to knock the girl unconscious with a karate chop to the neck before she did anything unpredictable.

__

Looking around from behind the header, Poppy spotted a bunch of bergens in the hallway doing various chores. Some were on their hands and knees scrubbing the floors using sponges, others were scrubbing the stone walls with scrub brushes, a few of them were polishing the frames of pictures and the rest were putting up party decorations.

__

But her eyes zoned in on the tall white hat that cooks wore and was worn by the bergen who took her Creek! Having her target in sight, the princess ran along the rod as fast as she could. While she hurried along the rod pocket, she yanked the scrunchy off to free her hair from the bun and use it to get to Brawdy.

__

The pink troll could hear Branch closing in on her and whisper/shouting ‘stop’ but she didn’t have time for him to make a well thought out plan! At the very end of the metal rod, Poppy jumped and free fell onto a cord dangling from a table, used it to fling herself a good five feet down the hall and onto a chair cushion to softly land on.

__

She ducked, rolled and slid around the bergens with the skill of an energized hare trying to escape a predator. Although the bergens in that hall could hear the little  _ tings  _ coming from the tables, the tiny  _ pitter patters _ by their feet and the itty bitty  _ boings _ from the furniture, none of them dared to look anywhere other than their work while Chef Brawdy was in the same room.

__

_ ‘Woah _ ! Since when could she do all of that?!’ Branch couldn’t help but be both impressed and dumbfounded by the sight of the pink troll doing what could only be described as freerunning. The survivalist knew that the princess was a bouncy and nimble troll but he had no idea she could pull off stunts like that.

__

After regaining his composure and picking his jaw off the ground, the grey troll proceeded to do similar stunts but with more efficiency from years of experience. The pink troll might be more limber than the survivalist, but Branch has practiced the art of moving while making little to no sound.

__

The village grump was closing in on the princess but he still wasn’t close enough to grab her without causing a scene. And she was pretty fast too, so Branch just needed her to slow down or stop for a second to catch up and he’ll be able to nab her.

__

While climbing one of the many portrait frames to get the high ground again, Poppy noticed a male bergen cleaning the painting next to her, finishing up and moving on to the next one. And it so happens that the princess is currently scaling his next cleaning assignment!

__

He was closing in with a bucket full of water in one hand and a wet towel in the other but the pink troll quickly used her hair to grab onto the hook of a candle holder. Poppy pulled herself onto the plate where the candle would go, squatted down and turned her hair yellow with orange highlights to resemble a flame. Being a talented troll who prided herself on stage performances, she even had the movements of fire down.

__

Once the janitor was finished and went up to a different painting, Poppy turned her hair back to its original pink coloration and saw a line of candle holders leading to a set of double doors that the chef was heading for. She used her hair to swing from one metal hook to another and continued until she reached the guru.

__

Soon enough, it’ll just take a few more jumps and she’ll be able to snatch Creek away from that awful bergen. As she landed on another metal plate screwed to the wall, she felt something hug her from behind with so much force that her arms were pinned to her sides in the process. For the first time in her life, Poppy did  _ not  _ want to be hugged!

__

It was Branch who had caught the princess after using her fire act as the perfect opportunity to catch up to her and grabbed onto her with all his might. Poppy struggled to free herself but the village grump was a lot stronger than she was.

__

“Let me-!” Her sentence was interrupted by a hand covering her mouth again.

__

“Are you insane?” The grey troll quietly hissed. “You’re gonna get us caught!”

__

Branch understood why she was running after the chef but there was no way for the princess to succeed when she was in the heart of their castle and completely surrounded by bergens!

__

The sound of unoiled hinges made the two trolls simultaneously turn their heads towards the large entrance that led to the dinning hall. A pair of guards were closing the doors and on the other side were the head chef and the bergen king discussing something, but the trolls couldn’t hear any of it.

__

It wasn’t until Chef Brawdy showed the king the frightened troll in her grasp that Poppy increased her struggling. She wiggled aggressively and kicked her legs and tried to bite the hand that kept her from speaking and tried to wrestle herself away from Branch to help her bestest friend. But nothing was working because the survivalist was five times stronger than her and refused to let go of the princess while she was planning to endanger herself.

__

Both trolls froze from their different objectives and watched in horror as Brawdy handed her king the very person Poppy was supposed to be rescuing. The doors closed behind the bergens, leaving the pink and grey trolls with the image of King Gristle dangling Creek over his open mouth to be swallowed up imprinted in their minds.

__

Even Princess Poppy’s positive attitude couldn’t save her from the horrible conclusion that one of the closest friends she’s ever had and her long time crush was gone forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poppy and Branch have made contact with the Snack Pack but they’ve lost Creek. I wanted Poppy to interact with Creek one more time before being taken and show her doing more than watch as the guru is eaten. (Although everyone already knows what the big plot twist is gonna be so...)
> 
> I also added Branch being afraid at the sight of bergens since he obviously has somewhat of a deep seeded fear of them. I thought it’s appropriate that after years of antagonizing bergens that he would be frightened to be in a town full of them! But he’s gonna push down his fears and save the day! Right?
> 
> Poppy wants to help Branch regain his colors so it makes sense to me that she’d study greyness to get an idea of what she could do to help. The only known cure is to find happiness again but as we all know, it’s easier said than done.
> 
> Branch doesn’t want to be mean to the princess, but he knows that being friendly with her in any way will give Poppy false hope to hold onto. It’s one of those ‘tough love/doing the wrong thing for the right reasons’ kind of mindsets he developed over the years.
> 
> Name: Smidge a.k.a. the toughest girl around  
> Age: 23 (looks like she's 5)  
> Birthstone: Diamond (innocence and love)  
> Misc. Type: Pop/Teaspoon  
> Loves: lifting heavy weights, crazy parties, crocheting, man stuff and fighting.  
> Hates: too much sugar, being mistaken for a child and (secretly) her voice.  
> Fun Fact: she and her entire family have been named after words that mean ‘small’ in some way.  
> Motto: "Gotta work hard to party harder!"

**Author's Note:**

> And that's where our story begins. I promise this won't be one of those boring rewrites that are just the movie in written form, so just give the story a chance to unfold. I don't have a strict schedule, but the next chapter should be out in a month or two.


End file.
